Naval Battles 
of the World 

Great and Decisive 

Contests on the Sea 

Causes and Results of 
OCEAN VICTORIES AND DEFEATS 
MARINE WARFARE AND ARMAMENT 

IN ALL AGES 



From the GREEK and PERSIAN Conflict at SALAMIS, in 
Rowboats, to the GREAT MODERN SEA-FIGHTS of 

THE JAPAN-RUSSIA WAR 



ILLUSTRATED 

By EDWARD SHIPPEN 

of the United States Navy 



P. W. ZIEGLER CO. 

PHILADELPHIA 



h\ 



LiBffASY ■)' 


O'v' 




fwo Copies 


,11,-. 




lUN 1 


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COPV B. 


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Copyright, 1905, 

by 

D. W. CASKEY, Jr. 



PREFACE. 

Naval warfare has contributed a vast quota of the genuinely 
memorable events of history. The navies of all times and 
of all lands have contributed generously to the heroes whose 
names go down from generation, models for the young, in- 
spiration for men of every age. The attempt in this volume 
has been to collect from all the vast bulk of old world's naval 
history, an orderly array of the great battles which have left 
their impress iipon the scroll of time. The result is a series 
of wonderfully impressive descriptions, characterized by 
historical accuracy, and covering a period from the Battle of 
Salamis, B. C. 480, to the great naval struggles between 
Japan and Russia in the Orient which have swept the fleets of 
the latter country from the seas. How twenty-five centuries 
have revolutionized the art of war is strikingly shown when 
the heroes of Salamis are described winning deathless re- 
nown in their oar-propelled vessels, and the Japanese to-day, 
reach the same altitude of fame in vast floating fortresses of 
steel. 

As the narrative unfolds, sooner or later the patriotic pride 
of all races of men is aroused by descriptions of historical 
episodes under the flag of their Fatherland. 

The blood of brave men of all time has quickened at the 
telling of tales of valor. The author has laid bare a veritable 
Golconda from the world's naval annals worthy the wade 
perusal it is sure to have. Howe and Nelson, alone have been 
themes for scores of volumes. As a fitting prelude to the 
great struggle between Russia and Japan which has carried 
the annals of warfare into the opening years of the Twentieth 
Century, the story of the Chinese-Japanese war is brought 
within reach of the average reader, ready to know the facts 
but unwilling to seek far afield to know of events so remote. 



PREFACE. 

A decade separated that struggle from the great war which 
began in the Orient in February, 1904. Off Port Arthur 
splendid additions to the total of valorous battling at sea have 
been made. In detail the events are described which ulti- 
mately led to the destruction of Russia's powerful fleet that 
was thought to hold beyond cjuestion, mastery of Oriental 
seas. 

The volume in generously illustrated with scenes, them- 
selves highly educational in portraying the evolution of ships 
of war, of weapons and armaments in general. For the older 
battles the masterpieces of world-famed artists have been 
reproduced. For the more recent struggles both the pencil 
and brush of the artist and the sharp eye of the camera have 
been requisitioned. The result is a feature of graphic interest 
and of incalculable value in aiding the imagination as the 
battles are described. The volume in every sense is believed 
to be a valuable addition to the literature of naval warfare. 

More than that, it is designed to bring this vast bulk of in- 
formation, truly educational in many of its details, within 
the ready grasp of the busy man and woman whose hours for 
reading are necessarily few in number. The author has truly 
presented the "essence of history". 

The Publishers. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



rAQ£ 

!rhe Ancients' Dread of the Sea ; Homer's Account of It ; Slow Frogress in 
Navigation before the Discovery of the Lode-stone ; Early Egyptians ; The 
Argonauts ; The Phenicians and Greeks ; Evidences of Sea-fights Thousands 
of Years before Christ; Naval Battle Fought by Rameses III; The Fleets of 
Sesostris ; Description of Bas-relief at Thebes ; Roman Galleys Described ; 
Early Maritime Spirit of the Carthaginians ; Herodotus' Account of the Battle 
of Artemisium ; The Greeks under Alexander ; Romans and Carthaginians. 13 

I. SALAMIS. B. C. 480. 

The Island of Salamis; Xerxes; His Immense Power; His Fleet and Army; 
Events Preceding the Battle ; The Contending Plosts Engage in Worship be- 
fore the Fight Begins; The Greek Admiral Gives the Signal for Action; 
Many Persian Vessels Sunk at the First Onset; Fierce Hand-to-Hand 
Fighting ; A Son of the Great Darius Falls ; Dismay Among the Asiatics ; 
Panic-stricken ; Artifice of Queen Artemisia ; She Escapes ; Xerxes Power- 
less ; He Rends his Robes and Bursts into Tears ; Resolves to Return to Asia ; 
Greece Wins her Freedom. 2j 

II. NAVAL BATTLE AT SYRACUSE. B. C. 415. 

h. Bloody Battle ; Strength of the Athenians ; The Fleet enters Syracuse Harbor 
in Fine Order; The Sicilians Blockade the Entrance and Imprison the Fleet; 
The Perils of Starvation Compel the Greeks to Attempt to Raise the Blockade ; 
Both Fleets Meet at the Mouth of the Harbor; Confusion Among the Greeks; 
They are Finally Compelled to Turn Back and Take Refuge in their Docks; 
Another Attempt to Escape from the Harbor; Mutiny Among the Sailors; 
The Syracusans Appear in their Midst and Capture both Men and Ships; 
End of Athens as a Naval Power. jl 

III. ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 

Carthage a Place of Interest for Twenty Centuries ; Romans and Carthaginians 
in Collision; First Punic War; Rome Begins the Construction of a Navy; 
A Stranded Carthaginian Vessel Serves as a Model; They Encounter the 
Carthaginians at Myloe ; Defeat of the Latter ; Renewed Preparations of both 
Countries for the Mastery of the Mediterranean : A Great Battle Fought, 260 
B. C. ; The Romans Finally Victorious; They Land an Army in Africa and 



CONTENTS. 

PAGM 
Sail for Home; Encounter a " Sirocco" and Lose nearly all their Galleys 

on the Rocks; The Succeeding Punic Wars; Rome in Her Greatness; 

Antony and Octavius Appear Upon the Scene. 36 

IV. ACTIUM. B. C. 81. 

The Decisive Battle of Philippi, B. C. 42 ; Antony and Octavius Divide the 
Empire of the World Between Them ; Trouble between Antony and Octa- 
vius; Antony's Dissipations; His Passion for Egypt's Queen; Octavius 
(the Future Augustus) Raises Fresh Legions to Oppose Antony ; The Latter 
Proclaims Cleopatra Queen of Cyprus and Cilicia ; The Republic Suspicious of 
Antony; Octavius Declares War Against Cleopatra; Crosses the Ionian Sea 
with his Fleet and Army, and Anchors at Actium, in Epirus ; Meeting of the 
Roman and Antony's Fleets; Preparation for Battle; A Grand Scene; 
Cleopatra's Magnificent Galley; Discomfiture of Antony's Centre ; Cleopatra 
Panic-stricken; Flight of the Egyptian Contingent; Antony Follows Cleopatra; 
His Fleet Surrenders to Octavius ; The Land Forces Refuse to Believe in 
Antony's Defection ; Despairing of His Return, they Accept Octavius' Over- 
tures and Pass Under his Banner ; Octavius Master of the World ; Suicide of 
Antony and Cleopatra. 4I 

V. LEPANTO. A. D. 1571. 

A Momentous Battle that Decides the Sovereignty of Eastern Europe ; Naval 
Events Preceding Lepanto ; Turkish Encroachments; Pope Pius V Forms a 
League Against Them ; Siege and Capture of Famagousta by the Turks; 
Barbarities of Mustapha ; Christian Europe Aroused ; Assembly of the Pon- 
tifical Fleet and Army; Don John, of the Spanish Squadron, Placed in Chief 
Command ; Resolves to Seek and Attack the Ottoman Fleet ; Encounters the 
Enemy in a Gulf on the Albanian Coast ; Character of Don John ; Preparations 
for Battle; Strength of his Fleet; A Magnificent Scene; The Turkish Fleet; 
Ali Pasha in Command; The Battle Opens; Desperate Fighting at all Points, 
Barberigo, of the Venetian Fleet, Badly Wounded ; Two Renowned Seamen 
Face to Face; Uluch All Captures the Great " Capitana" of Malta; The Galley 
of Don John Encounters that of Ali Pasha ; They Collide ; Terrible Hand- 
to-Hand Fighting; Bravery of a Capuchin Friar; The Viceroy of Egypt 
_ Killed; Ali Pasha Killed; His Galley Captured; Dismay among the Turks; 
Uluch Ali Gives the Signal for Retreat ; Terrible Loss of Life in the Battle ; 
Christian Slaves Liberated ; The Turkish Fleet Almost Annihilated ; Alex- 
ander Farnese ; Cervantes ; Fierce Storm ; Two Sons of Ali Prisoners ; Don 
John and Veniero; Division of the Spoils; The Te Deum ai Messina; Joy 
Throughout Christendom ; Colonna in Rome ; The Great Ottoman Standard ; 
Decline of the Ottoman Empire. 5# 

VI. THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. A. D. 1588. 

Significance of the Term; Philip II; His Character; Determines to Invade 
England ; The Duke of Parma ; Foresight of Elizabeth ; The Armada 
Ready ; An Enormous Fleet ; It Encounters a Tempest ; Mutiny ; The 



' CONTENTS. 

PAGJ 

Armada reaches the English Channel in July; Lord Howard, Drake, 
Frobisher and Hawkins ip Command of the English Fleet ; Tactics of the 
English; Capture of the ••Sant^ Anna" by Drake; The Spanish Reach 
Calais; Disappointment of the Spanish Commander; Another Storm Sets 
In; Distress in the Spanish Fleet; The English hang on its Rear and cut 
off Straggling Vessels; Shipwreck and Disaster Overtake the Armada on 
the Scottish and Irish Coast ; A Fearful Loss of Life ; Apparent Indifference 
of Philip II Concerning the Armada's Failure; The Beginning of Spain's 
Decline. 8i 



VII. SOME NAVAL EVENTS OF ELIZABETH'S TIME, SUCCEEDING 

THE ARMADA. 

The Armada's Discomfiture Encourages England to Attack Spain; Drake and 
Norris Unsuccessful at Lisbon ; The Earl of Cumberland's Expedition ; Meets 
with a Bloody Repulse ; League of Elizabeth M'ith Henri Quatre, against the 
Duke of Parma ; Sir TKsfmas Howard in Command of an English Fleet to 
the Azores; Frobisher and Raleigh's Expedition of 1592; Prizes Taken on 
the Coast of Spain ; Frobisher "Wounded ; His Death ; Richard Hawkins ; 
Walter Raleigh's Expedition to Guiana; Expedition of Sir Francis Drake 
andSir John Hawkins; Repulsed at Porto Rico ; Death of Hawkins; England 
Anticipates Philip II in 1596 and Attacks Cadiz; The City Taken; The 
English Attack and Capture Fayal ; Attempt to Intercept Spanish Merchant- 
men. 103 



VIII. NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND ANK 
HOLLAND. A. D. 1652-3. 

The Dutch Supreme on the Sea ; The Commonwealth and the United Provinces ; 
Negotiations for an Alliance Broken Off; An English Commodore Fires into 
a Dutch Fleet ; Van Tromp sent to Avenge this Insult ; Blake in Command of 
the English ; The English Temporarily Masters in the Channel ; Great Naval 
Preparation? in Holland; The South of England at Van Tromp's Mercy; 
Blake Collects hi? ^leet to meet Van Tromp ; A Storm Scatters Both ; The 
Dutch People Dissatisfied with Van Tromp ; He Resigns ; De Witt Assumes 
Chief Command; Blake Meets the French Fleet under Vendome ; He Cap- 
tures the Latter's Fleet; Battle of North Foreland; De Witt Withdraws 
at Nightfall ; Van Tromp to the Front Again ; Denmark Declares Against 
the Commonwealth ; The Dutch and English Meet in the English Channel ; 
Blake Beaten; Van Tromp Sails Up and Down the Channel with a Broom 
at his Masthead ; Battle off Portland ; A Decisive Engagement ; Van 
Tromp Escorts Dutch Merchantmen into Port; Discontent in the Dutch 
Fleet ; Terrible Loss on Both Sides ; Blake Learns of a New Fleet Fitted 
out by Van Tromp in April; They Meet Again; A Two Days' Battle; 
Another Effort Two Months Later; The Brave Van Tromp Killed; The 
J*OW?r of Holland Broken ; The States General Sues for Peace. il| 



CONTENTS. 

PAca 

rX. FRENCH AND DUTCH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. A. D. 1676. 

Revolt of Messina and Sicily ; Louis XIV Sends Duquesne with a Fleet to 
Sustain the Insurgents ; Sketch of Duquesne ; England Makes Peace with 
Holland ; Duquesne Repulses the Spanish Fleet and Captures the Town of 
Agosta; Learns of De Ruyter's Presence in the Mediterranean; Meeting 
of the Hostile Fleets, Jan. 1 6, 1676; Splendid Manoeuvres; The Advantage 
with the French ; They Meet Again, in Spring, Near Syracuse ; Sharp and 
Terrible Firing ; De Ruyter Mortally Wounded ; The Dutch Seek Shelter 
in Syracuse Harbor; The Sicilian and French Fleets Encounter the Dutch 
and Spanish Fleets Again, in May; Destruction of the Latter; Honors to the 
Remains of De Ruyter ; Recompensing Duquesne ; His Protestantism Dis- 
tasteful to Louis XIV; Humiliates Genoa ; Edict of Nantes; His Death and 
Private Burial ; Subsequent Honors to his Memory. 14^ 

X. BATTLE OF CAPE LA HAGUE, A. D. 1692. 

Louis XIV Prepares to Attack England, to Seat James II on the Throne ; 
Count de Tourville in Command of the French Fleet ; Sketch of his Life ; 
He is Ordered to Sail from Brest; Bad Weather; Arrogance of Pontchar- 
train, the Minister of Marine; Tourville meets a Powerful English and 
Dutch Fleet; Bravery of the Soleil Royal, the French Flag-ship; A Fog 
Ends the Fight ; Louis XIV Compliments Tourville on his Gallant Defence 
Against Such Great Odds ; Bestows the Title of Field Marshal on Him. 1 5) 

XL BENBOW, A. D. 1702. 

Benbow a Favorite of William HI ; Queen Anne Declares War Against France ; 
Benbow Sent to the West Indies; He Falls in with a French Fleet; A 
Vigorous Attack Commenced; Disobedience of his Captains; He is Badly 
Wounded and Dies; The Captains Court-martialed ; Detailed Account of the 
Capture and Destruction of the French and Spanish Fleets. 1 66 

XII. BYNG AND LA GALISSONlfeRE. A. D. 1756. 

Sketch of Admiral Byng; War between England and France; Capture of 
Minorca by the Latter ; Byng sent to the Relief of the Island ; La Galissoniere 
in Command of the French ; Failure to Engage the Latter's Fleet, as Directed, 
by Byng; The English Driven Back to Gibraltar; Byng Superseded Without 
a Hearing ; Tried by Court-martial and Sentenced to Death ; The Sentence 
Considered Unjustly Severe by Pitt ; Wrangling among the Officers of the ^ 
Admiralty; Final Execution of the Sentence ; Voltaire's Sarcasm. 1 74 

XIII. SIR EDWARD HAWKE AND CONFLANS. A. D. 1759. 

tfketch of Hawke; Succeeds the Ill-fated Admiral Byng; In Command of a 
Blockading Squadron at Brest ; Meets the French Fleet Under Admiral Con- 
flans Near Belleisle ; The Latter Inferior in Strength and Numbers ; A Gale 
Arises During the Fight and Many Injured French Vessels Wrecked ; The 
Latter Fleet Almost Entirely Disabled and Destroyed ; Honors to Hawkd. 183 



CONTENTS. 



XV. DE GRASSE AND RODNEY. A. D. 1782. 

Sketch of De Grasse ; Earliest Exploits ; Aids Washington in the Reduction of 
Yorktown ; Recognition by Congress ; Subsequent Events ; Encounters an 
English Fleet, Under Rodney ; De Grasse Loses Five Line-of Battle Ships ; 
Exultation in England ; De Grasse a Prisoner ; Assists in Bringing About 
a Treaty of Peace Between the United States and England; Career of 
Rodney ; Receives the Title of Baron and a Pension. 187 

LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. JUNE i, A. D. 1794. 

The First of a Series of Memorable Engagements; Traits of Lord Howe; 
Anecdotes ; Watching the French Fleet ; The Latter Put to Sea ; Skirmishing, 
May 28 ; A Great Battle, June i ; The French Open Fire First ; Concen- 
trated and Deadly Firing on Both Sides; The French Lose Six Line-of- 
Battle Ships ; Howe's Orders Not Obeyed by Some of the Captains ; Some 
French Ships that Had Struck Escape in the Darkness; Anecdotes Con- 
cerning the Battle. '97 

BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. A. D. 1797. 

Location of Cape St. Vincent ; Admiral .Sir John Jervis in Command of the 
English ; Strength of His Fleet ; Commodore Horatio Nelson ; Chased by a 
Spanish Fleet ; The Latter in Command of Don Joseph de Cordova ; Feb. 14 
« Disastrous Day for Spain ; Surprised to See so Large an English Fleet ; 
The Battle Opens; Boarding the San Nicolas; The Spanish Beaten at Every 
Point; The Battle over by 5 o'clock ; Both Fleets Lay To to Repair Damages; 
Escape of the Spanish Dur ig the Night ; Damages Sustained ; Description of 

the Santissima Trinidada ; The Cause of the Spanish Discomfiture ; Great 
Rejoicing in Lisbon ; Honors and Pensions Awarded to the English Com- 
manders at Home; Admiral Cordova and His Captains. ^'7 

^.NGLISH FLEET IN CANARY ISLANDS. A. D. 1797. 

English Expedition to the Canary Islands ; Cutting Out a Brig in the Harbor 
of Santa Cruz ; Attempt of the English to Capture the Town of Santa Cruz ; 
An Expedition Under Rear Admiral Nelson Organized for the Purpose ; The 
Garrison Apprised of Their Coming ; Nelson Shot in the Arm and Disabled ; 
The English Agree not to Molest the Canary Islands any Further if Allowed to 
Retire in Good Order ; The Spanish Governor Finally Accepts this Offer ; A 
Disastrous Defeat for Nelson. 236 

BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN. iith OCTOBER, A. D. 1797. 

Viscount Duncan ; His Early Life ; The Mutiny of the Nore ; Causes Leading 
to It; Disgraceful Practices of the English Admiralty of this Period; War 
with Holland ; The Dutch Fleet Off the Texel under the Command of Vice- 
Admiral De Winter ; The English Immediately Set Out to Intercept them ; 
The Battle Opens about Noon of Octoberi I th; Hard Fighting ; The English 



CONTENTS. 

Victorious ; Accurate Firing of the Hollanders ; The Losses Heavy on Both 
Sides; Actual Strength of Both Fleets; Duncan's Admirable Plan of Attack ; 
Nelson's Memorandum. 243 

BATTLE OF THE NILE, ist AUGUST, 1798. 

Aboukir Bay ; Its History ; Learning that a Strong French Fleet Had Left 
Toulon, Nelson Seeks Them , He Finds the Fleet in Aboukir Bay ; He 
Comes Upon Them at 6 o'clock in the Evening and Resolves to Attack Them 
at Once ; A Terrible Battle Misunderstanding of the French Admiral's 
Instructions; Many Acts of Individual Heroism; Death of the French 
Admiral ; Villeneuve Escapes with Four French Vessels; The Battle Over by 
1 1 o'clock ; The Most Disastrous Engagement the French Navy Ever Fought ; 
Detailed Account of the Great Fight; The French Ship L'Orient Blown Up 
with a Terrific Explosion; Summary of the Losses on both sides ; Masterly 
Tactics of Nelson; Gallant Behavior of the French; The Loss of This Battle 
of Immense Consequences to the Latter; Nelson Sails for Naples; Honors to 
Him Everywhere; His Official Report; French Officers of High Rank 
Killed ; Anecdotes on Board the Vanguard on the Voyage to Naples. 259 

LEANDER AND GENEREUX. i6th AUG., A. D. 1798. 

Contest Between Single Ships; The Leander a Bearer of Dispatches from 
Nelson ; Encounters the French Frigate Genereux ; Attempts to Avoid the 
Latter; A Close and Bloody Fight of Six Hours; The Leander Surrenders; 
Captain Le Joille; Plundering the English Officers; Captain Thompson; 
Another Striking Incident ; A French Cutter in Alexandria Harbor Abandoned 
on Being Attacked by Two English Frigates ; The Officers and Crew of the 
Former, on Reaching the Shore, Massacred by the Arabs; General Carmin 
and Captain Vallette Among the Slain; Dispatches from Bonaparte Secured 
by the Arabs. 290 

ACTION BETWEEN THE AMBUSCADE AND BAYONNAISE, 
A. D. 1798. 

Decisive Single Ship Actions ; A Fruitful Source of Discussion ; The British 
Account of It; History and Description of the Ambuscade; Unexpected 
Meeting with the Bayonnaise; The English Vessel the Fastest Sailer; A 
Battle Takes Place ; Detailed Account of the Fight ; The English Frigate 
Surrenders to the French Corvette ; Causes of Discontent on Board the Former ; 
Great Rejoicing in France ; Promotion of the French Captain. 297 

SIR SIDNEY SMITH AND HIS SEAMEN AT ACRE. A. D. 1799. 

Minister to the Sublime Porte ; Notified of Bonaparte's Presence in Syria ; The 
Latter Lays Siege to Acre ; He Repairs Thither with a Fleet and Assists the 
Turks in Defending the Place ; Admiral Peree, of the French Navy, Puts in an 
Appearance ; Desperate Attempts to Storm the Place ; Strength of Napoleon's 
Army on Entering Syria; Kleber's Grenadiers; Repeated and 'D'^-hd^tsJ^ 
Assaults of the French ; Unsuccessful Each Time ; The Siege Abandonee. 
After Sixty -one Days; Importance of the Place as Viewed by Napoleon. ^q^ 



CONTENTS. 

PAQK 

FOUDROYANT AND CONSORTS IN ACTION WITH THE 
GUILLAUME TELL. A. D. 1800. 

Preliminary History ; Rear Admiral Denis Decr^s ; Sketch of this Remarkable 
Man ; His Tragic End ; Engagement of the Guillaume Tell with the English 
Fleet Near Malta; Detailed Account of the Fight; Entirely Dismasted and 
Surrounded by English Vessels, the Guillaume Tell at last Surrenders ; A 
More Heroic Defence Not To Be Found in the Record of Naval Actions ; 
Taken to England, the Guillaume Tell is Refitted for the English Service, 
Under the Name of Malta; A Splendid Ship. ,I3 

NAVAL OPERATIONS AT ABOUKIR BAY AND CAPTURE OP 
ALEXANDRIA. A. D. 1801. 

Expulsion of the French Determined Upon ; An English Fleet and Army Sent 
Thither Under Command of Lord Keith and Sir Ralph Abercrombie ; The 
French Under Command of General Friant ; The Former Land Troops Under 
a Galling Fire from Fort Aboukir and the Sand Hills; Sir Sidney Smith in 
Command of the Marines ; A Heavy Battle Fought March 2 1 ; The French 
Forced to Retire ; General Abercrombie Mortally Wounded ; The French, 
Shut in at Alexandria, Finally Capitulate ; Renewed Interest in this Campaign 
on Account of Recent Events ; Points of Similarity. 2 18 

THE CUTTING OUT OF THE CHEVRETTE. JULY, A. D. 180L 

An Example of a " Cutting-out Expedition " ; The Combined French and 
Spanish Fleets at Anchor in Brest ; The English Watching Them ; The 
Chevrette at Anchor in CaiBaret Bay ; The English Resolve to Cut Her Out ; 

An Expedition Starts Out at Night, in Small Boats ; They Board and Capture 
Her, in Spite of the Desperate Resistance of the Frinch ; Details of the Fight ; 
The Losses on Both Sides. 322 

BOAT ATTACK UPON THE FRENCH FLOTILLA AT 
BOULOGNE. A. D. 1801. 

Another Boat Attack by the English, with Less Favorable Results; Lord Nelson 
in Command; Darkness and the Tides Against Them; They "Catch ?. 
Tartar " ; The Affair a Triumph for the French. 328 

COPENHAGEN. A. D. 1801. 

Preliminary History; An English Fleet Under Sir Hyde Parker and Lord 
Nelson Ordered to the Cattegat ; A Commissioner Empowered to Offer Peace 
or War Accompanies Them ; Denmark Repels Their InsuUing Ultitnatum 
and Prepares for Defence ; Strength of the English Fleet ; They Attempt to 
Force the Passage of the Sound, and the Battle Begins; Early Incidents ; Diffi- 
culties of the Large English Vessels in Entering the Shallow Waters ; Strength 
of the Danish Fleet and Shore Batteries ; Sir Hyde Parker Makes Signal to 
Withdraw ; Lord Nelson Disobeys and Keeps up the Fight ; The Danish 
Adjutant General Finally Appears and an Armistice is Agreed Upon; A 



CONTENTS. 

Characteristic Action of Lord Nelson ; Death of the Emperor Paul, of Russia ; 
Second Attack on Copenhagen, 1807; Observations Concerning England's 
Conduct ; A Powerful English Fleet Appears in the Sound ; The Crown 
Prince Rejects England's Humiliating Proposals ; Copenhagen Bombarded 
and Set on Fire; Final Surrender; Plunder by the English. 33" 

TRAFALGAR. OCTOBER, 21st, A. D. 1805. 

Napoleon's Grand Schemes ; Nelson in Search of the French Fleet ; His 
Extensive Cruise; Napoleon's Orders to His Admiral, Villeneuve; The 
English Discover the French and Spanish Fleets at Cadiz; Nelson's Order 
of Battle a Master-piece of Naval Strategy ; Strength of the English Fleet ; 
Villeneuve Ordered to Sea ; Strength of the Combined French and Spanish 
Fleets; The Hostile Forces Meet at Cape Trafalgar; The Battle; One of the 
Most Destructive Naval Engagements Ever Fought ; Tlte French Account of 
It; The Allied Fleet Almost Annihilated; Nelson Mortally Wounded; 
Further Particulars of the Battle ; Estimate of Nelson's Character ; Honors to 
His Memory. 352 

LORD EXMOUTH AT ALGIERS. A. D. 1816. 

Biographical Sketch of Lord Exmouth ; Atrocities of the Algerines Prompt the 
English to Send a Fleet, Under Lord Exmouth, Against Them ; A Dutch 
Fleet Joins Them at Gibraltar ; Strength of the Combined Fleet ; Fruitless 
Negotiations with the Algerines; Strength of their Fortifications; The Allied 
Fleets Open Fire on the Forts and City ; A Tremendous Cannonade ; The 
Dey Comes to Terms ; Capture of the Place by the French, Fourteen Years 
Later. . 397 

NAVARINO. A. D. 1827. 

A isembly of the Allied English, French and Russian Fleets in the Mediterranean ; 
Their Object; An Egyptian Fleet, with Troops, enters Navarino Harbor; 
History and Geographical Position of the Latter; Strength of the Oppos 
ing Fleets; Treachery of the Egyptians; The Battle Opens; Desperate 
Fighting; Bad Gunnery of the Turks; Destruction of Their Fleet. 407 

SINOPE. A. D. 1853. 

History of Sinope ; An Abuse of Superior Force on the Part of the Russians ; 
They Encounter the Turkish Fleet in Sinope Harbor and Demand the Latter's 
Surrender ; They Decline and the Battle Opens Furiously ; The Turkish Fleet 
Totally Destroyed and That of the Russians rendered Comparatively Useless ; 
Appearance of the Town of Sinope. 

LISSA. A. D. 1866. 

Position of the Island of Lissa ; Its History; Attacked and Taken by the 
Italians ; The Austrians Shortly After Come to its Relief; A Great Naval 
Battle Takes Place; Strength of the Opposing Fleets; The Ironclads That 
Took Part; Bad Management of the Italians Under Admiral Persano; They 
are Badly Beaten; Sketch of the Italian Admiral; His Court-Martial; 
William Baron Tegethoff, the Austrian Commander. 420 



CONTENTS. IX 

SOME NAVAL ACTIONS BETWEEN BRAZIL, THE ARGEN 
TINE CONFEDERATION AND PARAGUAY. A. D. 1865-68. 

Origin of the Long and Deadly Struggle ; The Brazilian Fleet Starts Out on a 
Cruise ; Lopez, Dictator of Paraguay, Determines to Capture this Fleet ; His 
Preparations; The Hostile Fleets Encounter each other; Details of the 
Fight; Bad Management on both sides; The Paraguayans Forced to Retire; 
Another Battle in March, 1866, on the Parana Rivar; Full Account of the 
Desultory Fighting ; The Paraguayans Driven Out of their Earthworks ; Two 
Unsuccessful Attacks, in 1868, on the Brazilian Monitors lying off Tayi; 
Interesting Account of one of these Attacks. 4*9 

THE CAPTURE OF THE HUASCAR. OCTOBER 8th, A. D. 1879. 

Description of the Huascar; Her Earlier Exploits; Strength of the Chilian 
Squadron; The Latter Seek the Huascar; The Enemies Recognize each 
other; The Battle Begins at Long Range; Full Details of this Spirited 
Engagement ; Terrible Loss of Life on Board the Huascar ; She Finally 
Surrenders ; Condition of the Chilian Fleet. 44S 

BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. JULY iith, A. D. 1882. 

Political Complications ; Arabi Pasha ; Important Events Preceding the Bom- 
bardment ; Engli nd Demands that Work on the Fortifications Cease ; Arabi 
Promises to Desisi, but Renews the Work Secretly ; A Powerful English Fleet 
Opens Fire on the Defences; Silenced by the Fleet and Abandoned; Alex- 
andria Set on Fire and Pillaged ; Sailors and Marines from the American 
and German Fleets Landed to Protect the Consulates; lujury Sustained 
by the English Fleet. ^-g 

THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 

The Opening of Japan to Foreign Nations; Japanese Geography and History; 
Early Explorers; Revolution of 1617; First American Efforts at Inter- 
course; Commander Glynn's Attempt; Successful Expedition of Commo- 
dore Perry in 1852; First Treaty Signed; Subsequent Development of 
Japan; Outbreak of War with China; Sinking of the Kow-Shing; His- 
toric Hostility between the Two Nations ; Disputes over Corea ; The Bat- 
tle of the Yalu, September 17th, 1894; Details of the Fight; Results of this 
Battle; Importance to Naval Experts; Conclusions Derived; Succeeding 
Events of the War; Capture of Port Arthur; The Japanese Emperor; 
New Treaty with th* Uaited States, 467 



CONTENTS 

BATTLE AT PORT ARTHUR, FEBRUARY 8th and 9Th, 
AND APRIL 13TH. A. D. 1904. 

Japanese-Russian War begins — Russian fleet in Port Arthur harbor 
— Torpedo attack deUvered February, 8, 1904 — Five Russian ships 
crippled — Russians give battle, February 9 — Japanese torpedo boats 
dash to harbor entrance — Russians re-enter harbor with three ships 
seriously damaged— First battle ends with Japanese injured, eight 
ships of the Russian fleet helpless in the harbor — Battle at Che- 
mulpo — Russian ships discovered in harbor by Admiral Kamimura. 
Ordered to leave harbor or be attacked there — Russian commander 
advances to meet Japanese — Russian ships riddled, return to harbor, 
are beached and destroyed — Japanese escape injury. 503 

BATTLE OFF PORT ARTHUR. AUGUST ioth, A. D. 1904. 

Russian fleet leaves harbor — Wlireless telegraph message warns 
Admiral Togo — Japanese fleet forms line of battle and begins pur- 
suit — Bulk of attack placed on torpedo boat destroyers which deliver 
desperate attacks, raking Russian ships with hail of small shot — 
Japanese battleships and cruisers bombarded at long range — Shell 
strikes bridge of Russian flagship, kilHing Admiral in command — 
Fleet's formation broken to avoid collision — Japanese redouble fury 
of attack — Russian flight begins — Half of fleet turn and flee toward 
Port Arthur — Czarevitch Novik, Askold and other ships flee to 
Chinese ports to disarm — Japanese pursue and guard Chinese ports 
until refugee sh)ips are stripped^ — Port Arthur again blockaded. 
Rurik escapes Japanese — Is caught off Kamtchatka — Fourteen hours 
battle ensues — Russian cruiser beaten and beached— Officers and 
crew escape to land — Japanese enter harbor and complete work of 
destruction. 509 

BATTLE OF KOREA STRAITS. AUGUST 14TH, A. D. 1904 

Vladivostok squadron leaves port — Attempts to join Port Arthur 
ships via Tsuskima Straits — Discovered by Admiral Kamimura — 
Battle and pursuit — Cruiser Rurik damaged, cut off from sister 
s/hips and sunk — Two shiips reach Vladivostok in sinking condition, 
riddled by shells, with one half officers and men dead or wounded 
Tribute to Admiral Togo. 5M 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

Nelson, the Hero of Trafalgar Frontispiece 

Naval Battle, Eighteenth Century 20 

Return of the Victors after the Battle of Salamis 25 

A Norse Galley 35 

Capture of the Carthaginian Fleet by the Romans 36 

Roman Galley 47 

Battle of Actium 53 

The Ptolemy Philopater 55 

Battle of Lepanto 68 

Lord Howard Effingham on Board the Ark 85 

A Spanish Galleon of the Sixteenth Century 102 

Sir Francis Drake in Central America 103 

Henry Grace de Dieu m 

A Caravel of the Time of Columbus 156 

Norman Ship of the Fourteenth Century I73 

Venetian Galley of the Sixteenth Century 182 

Bucentoro ^^6 

Howe's Action of June i, I794 ^97 

Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 1797 229 

English Fleet ofif Teneriffe 244 

Appearance of the Huascar after the Capture 256 

Battle of the Nile. French Flagship L'Orient, 120 Guns on Fire 260 

Nelson Wounded at Teneriffe '^■17 

Dutch Man-of-War, Seventeenth Century 277 

Capture of Admiral Nelson's Despatches 293 

Siege of Acre, 1799 3o8 

Capture of Alexandria, 1801 3i8 

Battle of Copenhagen 34^ 

Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar 356 

Battle of Lissa, 1866 420 

Austrian Man-of-War, Ferdinand Max, Ramming the Italian Iron- 
clad Re D'ltalia, at the Battle of Lissa 424 

The Dreadnaught 444 

Steel Torpedo Boat and Pole 457 

Bombardment of Alexandria, 1882 465 

The Alexandria, 1877 (17) 466 

17 



i8 ■ LIST OF lUXSTRATIONS. 

Battle of the Yalu, Sinking of the Chih-Yuen 500 

Russian and Japanese Destroyers 505 

Blowing Up of the Petropavlovsk 512 

Capture of Reshitelni at Chifu Si6 

Russian Fleet Leaving Port Arthur 519 

Raid by Vladivostock Fleet 522 



NAVAL BATTLES, 

ANCIENT AND MODERN 



INTRODUCTION. 

The Ancients were full of horror of the mysterious 
Great Sea, which they deified; believing that man no 
longer belonged to himself when once embarked, but was 
liable to be sacrificed at any time to the anger of the 
Great Sea god; In which case no exertions of his own 
could be of any avail. 

This belief was not calculated to make seamen of 
ability. Even Homer, who certainly was a great traveler, 
or voyager, and who had experience of many peoples, 
gives us but a poor idea of the progress of navigation, 
especially in the blind gropings and shipwrecks of Ulysses, 
which he appears to have thought the most natural 
thingrs to occur. 

A recent writer says, " Men had been slow to establish 
completely their dominion over the sea. They learned 
very early to build ships. They availed themselves very 
early of the surprising power which the helm exerts over 
the movements of a ship; but, during many ages, they 
found no surer guidance than that which the position of 
the sun and of the stars afforded. When clouds inter- 
vened to deprive them of this uncertain direction, they 
were helpless. They were thus obliged to keep the land 
in view, and content themselves with creeping timidly 
along the coasts. But at length there was discovered a 
stone r-zhlch the wise Creator had endowed with strange 
prope les. It was observed that a needle which had 

19 



20 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

been brought in contact with that stone ever afterwards 
pointed steadfastly to the north. Men saw that with a 
needle thus influenced they could guide themselves at sea 
as surely as on land. The Mariner's compass loosed the 
bond which held sailors to the coast, and gave them 
liberty to push out into the sea." 

As regards early attempts at navigation, we must go 
back, for certain information, to the Egyptians. The 
expedition of the Argonauts, if not a fable, was an 
attempt at navigation by simple boatmen, who, in the 
infancy of the art, drew their little craft safely on shore 
every night of their coasting voyages. We learn from 
the Greek writers themselves, that that nation was in igno- 
rance of navigation compared with the Phenicians, and 
the latter certainly acquired the art from the Egyptians. 

We know that naval battles, that is, battles between 
bodies of men in ships, took place thousands of years 
before the Christian era. On the walls of very ancient 
Egyptian tombs are depicted such events, apparently 
accompanied with much slaughter. 

History positively mentions prisoners, under the name 
of Tokhaii, who were vanquished by the Egyptians in a 
naval batde fought by Rameses III, in the fifteenth 
century before our era. These Tokhaj^iw^re thought to 
be Kelts, and to come from the West. According to 
some they were navigators who had inherited their skill 
from their ancestors of the lost Condnent, Atlantis. 

The Phenicians have often been popularly held to have 
been the first navigators upon the high seas; but the 
Carians, who preceded the Pelasgi in the Greek islands, 
undoubtedly antedated the Phenicians in the control of 
the sea and extended voyages. It is true that when the 
Phenicians did begin, they far exceeded their predeces- 
sors. Sidon dates from 1837 before Christ, and soon 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

after this date she had an extensive commerce, and 
made long voyages, some even beyond the Mediter- 
ranean. 

To return to the Egyptians. Sesostris had immense 
fleets 1437 years before Christ, and navigated not only 
the Mediterranean, but the Red Sea. The Egyptians 
had invaded, by means of veritable fleets, the country of 
the Pelasgi. Some of these ancient Egyptian ships were 
very large. Diodorus mentions one of cedar, built by 
Sesostris, which was 280 cubits (420 to 478 feet) long. 

One built by Ptolemy was 478 feet long, and carried 
400 sailors, 4000 rowers, and 3000 soldiers. Many other 
huge vessels are mentioned. A bas-relief at Thebes 
represents a naval victory gained by the Egyptians over 
some Indian nation, in the Red Sea, or the Persian Gulf, 
probably 1400 years before Christ. 

The Egyptian fleet is in a crescent, and seems to be 
endeavoring to surround the Indian fleet, which, with oars 
boarded and sails furled, is calmly awaiting the approach 
of its antagonist. A lion's head, of some metal, at the 
prow of each Egyptian galley, shows that ramming was 
then resorted to. These Egyptian men-of-war were 
manned by soldiers in helmets, and armed as those of the 
land forces. 

The length of these vessels is conjectured to have been 
about 120 feet, and the breadth 16 feet. They had high 
raised poops and forecasdes, filled with archers and 
slingers, while the rest of the fighting men were armed 
with pikes, javelins, and pole-axes, of most murderous 
appearance, to be used in boarding. Wooden bulwarks, 
rising considerably above the main-deck, protected the 
rowers. Some of the combatants had bronze coats of 
mail, in addition to helmets of the same, and some carried 
huge shields, covered, apparendy, with tough bull's hide. 



22 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

These vessels had masts, with a large yard, and a huge 
square sail. They are said to have been built of acacia, 
so durable a wood that vessels built of it have lasted a 
century or more. They appear to have had but one rank 
of oars; although two or three tiers soon became com- 
mon. None of the ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek 
or Roman monuments represent galleys with more than 
two tiers of oars, except one Roman painting that gives 
one with three. Yet quinqueremes are spoken of as 
very common. It is not probable that more than three 
tiers were used; as seamen have never been able to 
explain how the greater number of tiers could have been 
worked; and they have come to the conclusion that 
scholars have been mistaken, and that the term qidnque- 
reme, or five ranks of oars, as translated, meant the 
arrangement of the oars, or of the men at them, and not 
the ranks, one above another, as usually understood. 

Much learning and controversy has been expended 
upon this subject, and many essays written, and models 
and diagrams made, to clear up the matter, without satis 
fying practical seamen. 

The Roman galleys with three rows of oars had the 
row ports In tiers. These ports were either round or 
oval, and were called colimzbaria, from their resemblance 
to the arrangement of a dove-cote. The lower oars could 
be taken in, In bad weather, and the ports closed. 

The "long ships" or galleys of the ancient Mediter- 
ranean maritime nations — which were so called in oppo- 
sition to the short, high and bulky merchant ships — 
carried square or triangular sails, often colored. The 
"long ships" themselves were painted in gay colors, 
carried flags and banners at different points, and images 
upon their prows, which were sacred to the tutelary 
divinities of their country. The "long ships " could make 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

with their oars, judging- from descriptions of their voyages, 
perhaps a hundred miles in a day of twelve hours. In 
an emergency they could go much faster, for a short 
time. It is reliably stated that it took a single-decked 
galley, 130 feet long, with 52 oars, a fourth of an hour to 
describe a full circle in turnino-. 

Carthage was founded by the Phenicians, 1137 years 
before our era ; and not very long after the Carthaginians 
colonized Marseilles. Hanno accomplished \\\?> peri plus, 
or great voyage round Africa, 800 years B. C, showing 
immense advance in nautical ability, in which the Greeks 
were again left far behind. Still later, the Carthaginians 
discovered the route to the British Islands, and traded 
there — especially in Cornish tin — while 330 years B. C. 
Ultima TJmle, or Iceland, was discovered by the Marseil- 
lais Pitheas. Thus Carthage and her colonies not only 
freely navigated the Atlantic, but some have thought 
that they actually reached northern America. 

Four hundred and eighty years before the Christian 
era the Grecian fleet defeated that of the Persians, at 
Salamis ; and the next year another naval batde, that of 
Mycale (which was fought on the same day as that of 
Platasa on land), completely discomfited the Persian 
invaders, and the Greeks then became the aggressors. 

Herodotus, who wrote about 450 years B. C, gives 
accounts of many naval actions, and even describes 
several different kinds of fighting vessels. He mentions 
the prophecy of the oracle at Delphi, when "wooden walls" 
were declared to be the great defence against Xerxes' 
huge force— meaning the fleet— just as the "wooden 
walls of England" were spoken of, up to the time of 
ironclads. Herodotus says the Greek fleet at the batde 
of Artemisium, which was fought at the same time as 
Thermopylae, consisted of 271 ships, which, by their very 



24 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

skillful handling, defeated the much larger Persian arma- 
ment, which latter, from its very numbers, was unwieldy. 

At Artemisium, the Greeks " brought the sterns of 
their ships together in a small compass, and turned their 
prows towards the enemy." And, although largely out- 
numbered, fought through the day, and. captured thirty 
of the enemy's ships. This manner of manoeuvring was 
possible, from the use of oars ; and they never fought 
except in calm weather. 

After this, the Greeks, under Alexander, renewed their 
energies, and his fleet, under the command of Nearchus, 
explored the coast of India and the Persian Gulf. His 
fleets principally moved by the oar, although sails were 
sometimes used by them. 

Among other well authenticated naval events of early 
times, was the defeat of the Carthaginian fleet, by Regulus, 
In the first Punic war, 335 years B. C. This victory, 
oained at sea, was the more creditable to the Romans, 
as they were not naturally a sea-going race, as the nations 
to the south and east of the Mediterranean were. 

When they had rendered these nations tributary, they 
availed themselves of their nautical knowledge ; just as 
the Austrians of to-day avail themselves of their nautical 
population upon the Adriatic coast, or the Turks of their 
Greek subjects, who are sailors. 

Of naval battles which exercised any marked influence 
upon public events, or changed dynasties, or the fate of 
nations, the first of which we have a full and definite 
description is the batde of Actium. But before proceed- 
Ino- to describe that most Important and memorable 
engagement, we may look at two or three earlier sea 
fights which had great results, some details of which have 
come down to us. 




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NAVAL BATTLES. 



ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



SALAMIS. B. C. 48a 




HIS great sea fight took phcr: ^t the above 
date, between the fleet of X'srxes and that 
of the allied Greeks. 

Salamis Is an isUnd in the Gulf of 
/Eg'ma, ten miles west of Athens. Its 
modern name is Kolouri. It ir, of about 
thirty square miles surface; mountainous, 
wooded, and very irregular in shape. 
It was in the channel between it and the main land 
that the great battle was fought. 

Xerxes, in the flush of youth, wielding immense power, 
and having boundless resources in men and money, 
determined to revenge upon the Greeks the defeat of the 
Persians, so many of whom had fallen, ten years before, 
at Marathon. After years of preparation, using all his 
resources and enlisting tributary powers, he marched 
northward, in all the pomp and circumstance of war, and 
laid a bridge of boats at the Hellespont, over which It 
took seven days for his army to pass. His fleet consisted 
of over I 200 fighting vessels and transports, and carried 
240,000 men. 

r, evious to the naval batde of which we are about to 

26. 



26 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

speak, he lost four hundred of his galleys In a violent 
storm; but still his fleet was Immensely superior In num- 
ber to that of the Greeks, who had strained every nerve 
to get together the navies of their independent States. 
Such leaders as Aristides and Themlstocles formed a 
host in themselves, while the Independent Greeks were, 
man for man and ship for ship, superior to the Persians 
and their allies. Oi^ the Greek fleet the Athenians com- 
posed the right wing; the Spartans the left, opposed 
respectively to the Phenicians and the lonians; while the 
yEginetans and Corinthians, with others, formed the 
Greek reserve. 

The day of the battle was a remarkably fair one, and 
we are told that, as the sun rose, the Persians, with one 
accord (both on sea and land, for there was a famous 
(and battle as well on that day), prostrated themselves In 
worship of the orb of day. This was one of the oldest 
and greatest forms of worship ever known to man, and 
it still exists among the Parsee;;. It must have been a 
grand sight; for 240,000 men, in a thousand ships, and 
an Immense force on the neifrhborinir land, bowed down 
&t once, in adoration. 

The Greeks, with the "canniness" v/hich distinguished 
them in their deallno-s with both o-ods and men, sacrificed 
to all the gods, and especially to Zeus, or Jupiter, and to 
Poseidon, or Neptune. 

Everything was ready for the contest on both sides. 
Arms, offensive and defensive, were prepared. They 
were much the same as had been used for ages, by the 
Egyptians and others. Grappling Irons were placed 
ready to fasten contending ships together; gangways or 
planks were arranged to afford sure footing to the 
boarders, while heavy weights were ready, triced up to 
the long yards, to be dropped upon the enemy's deck, 



SALAMIS. 27 

crushing his rowers, and perhaps sinking the vessel. 
Catapults and balistae (the first throwing large darts 
and javelins, the second immense rocks) were placed in 
order, like great guns of modern times. Archers and 
slingers occupied the poops and forecastles ; while, as 
additional means of offence, the Rhodlans carried loner 
spars, fixed obliquely to the prows of their galleys, and 
reaching beyond their beaks, from which were suspended, 
by chains, large kettles, filled with live coals and com- 
bustibles. A chain at the bottom capsized these on the 
decks of the enemy, often setting them on fire. Greek 
fire, inextinguishable by water, is supposed, by many, to 
have been used thus early; while fire ships were certainly 
often employed. 

Just as the Greeks had concluded their religious cere- 
monies, one of their triremes, which had been sent in 
advance to reconnoitre the Persian fleet, was seen return- 
ing, hotly pursued by the enemy. 

An Athenian trireme, commanded by Ameinas, the 
brother of the poet y^schylus, dashed forward to her 
assistance. Upon this Eurybiades, the Greek admiral, 
seeing that everything was ready, gave the signal for 
general attack, which was the display of a brightly bur- 
nished brazen shield above his vessel. (This, and many 
other details may be found in Herodotus, but space pre- 
vents their insertion here.) 

As soon as the shield was displayed the Grecian 
trumpets sounded the advance, which was made amid 
great enthusiasm, the mixed fleets, or contingents, frorr> 
every state and city, vying with each other as to wh^ 
should be first to strike the enemy. The right wing 
dashed forward, followed by the whole line, all sweeping 
down upon the Persians, or Barbarians, as the Greeks 
called them. 



28 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

On this occasion the Greeks had a good cause, and 
were fighting to save their country and its Hberties. 
Undaunted by the numbers of the opposing fleet, they 
bent to their long oars and came down in fine style. The 
Athenians became engaged first, then the ^^ginetans, and 
then the batde became general. The Greeks had the 
advantage of being in rapid motion when they struck the 
Persian fleet, most of which had not, at that critical moment, 
gathered way. The great effect of a mass in motion is 
exemplified in the act of a river steamboat running at 
speed into a wharf; the sharp, frail vessel is seldom much 
damaged, while cutting deep into a mass of timber, iron 
and stone. Many of the Persian vessels were sunk at 
once, and a great gap thereby made in their line. This 
was filled from their immense reserve, but not until after 
great panic and confusion, which contributed to the suc- 
cess of the Greeks. The Persian Admiral commanding 
the left wing, seeing that it was necessary to act promptly 
in order to effectually succor his people, bore down at 
full speed upon the flagship of Themistocles, intending 
to board her. A desperate hand-to-hand struggle ensued, 
and the vessel of Themistocles was soon in a terrible 
strait; but many Athenian galleys hastened to his rescue, 
and the large and magnificent Persian galley was sunk by 
repeated blows from the sharp beaks of the Greeks, 
while Ariamenes, the Admiral, was previously slain and 
thrown overboard. At this same moment the son of the 
great Darius, revered by all the Asiatics, fell, pierced by 
a javelin, at which sight the Persians set up a melancholy 
wailing cry, which the Greeks responded to with shouts 
of triumph and derision. 

Still, the Persians, strong in numbers, renewed and 
maintained the battle with great fury ; but the Athenian 
fleet cut through the Phenician line, and then, pulling 



SALAMIS. 29 

Strong with starboard and backing- port oars, turned 
short round and fell upon the Persian left flank and 
rear. 

A universal panic now seized the Asiatics ; and in 
spite of numbers, they broke and fled in disorder — all, 
that is, except the Dorians, who, led by their brave queen 
in person, fought for their new ally with desperate valor, 
in the vain hope of restoring order where all order was 
lost. The Dorian queen, Artemisia, at last forced to the 
conviction that the fugitives were not to be rallied, and 
seeing the waters covered with wreck, and strewn with 
the floating corpses of her frieirds and allies, reluctandy 
gave the signal for retreat. 

She was making off in her own galley, when she found 
herself closely pursued by a Greek vessel, and, to divert 
his pursuit, as well as to punish one who had behaved 
badly, she ran her galley full speed into that of a Lycian 
commander, who had behaved in a cowardly manner 
during the engagement. The Lycian sank instantly, and 
the Greek, upon seeing this action, supposed that Arte- 
misia's galley was a friend, and at once relinquished pur- 
suit ; so that this brave woman and able navaJ commander 
succeeded in making her escape. 

Ten thousand drachmas had been offered for her capture, 
and this, of course, was lost. Ameinas, who had pursued 
her, was afterwards named, by general suffrage, one of the 
" three valiants" who had most distinguished themselves 
in the hard fought battle against such odds. Polycritus 
and Eumenes were the two others. 

The victory being complete at sea, Aristides, at the head 
of a large body of Athenians, landed at a point where 
many of the Persians were. The latter were divided from 
the main body of Xerxes'- army by a sheet of water, and 
were slain, almost to a man, by the Greeks, under <Jie 



30 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

very eyes of the Persian monarch and his main army, 
who could not reach them to afford assistance. 

The discomfiture of his fleet rendered Xerxes powerless 
for the time ; and, recognizing the extent of the misfortune 
which had befallen him, the mighty lord of so many 
nations, so many tributaries, and so many slaves, rent his 
robes, and burst into a flood of tears. 

Thus ended the great batde of Salamis, which decided 
the fate of Greece. 

The forces of the several independent Greek States 
returned to their homes, where their arrival was celebra- 
ted with great rejoicing, and sacrifices to the gods. 

Xerxes, as soon as he realized the extent of the disaster 
which had befallen him, resolved at once to return with 
all possible expedition into Asia. His chief counsellor in 
vain advised him not to be downcast by the defeat of his 
fleot: "that he had come to fioht aijainst the Greeks, not 
with rafts of wood, but with soldiers and horses." In 
spite of this, Xerxes sent the remnant of his fleet to the 
harbors of Asia Minor, and after a march of forty-five 
days, amidst great hardship and privation, arrived at the 
Hellespont with his army. Famine, pestilence and battle 
had reduced his army from a million or more to about 
300,000. 

The victory at Salamis terminated the second act of 
the great Persian expedidon. The third, in the following 
year, was the conclusive land battle of Plataea, and subse- 
quent operations. These secured not only the freedom 
of Greece and of adjoining European States, but the 
freedom and independence of the Asiadc Greeks, and their 
undisturbed possession of the Asiatic coast — an inesdm- 
able prize to the victors. 



SYRACUSE. 



31 



NAVAL BATTLE AT SYRACUSE B. C. 415 




HIS battle was not only rema'kable for its 
desperate fighting and bloody character, 
but for the fact that the comple^o andover- 
whelming defeat of the Athenians was the 
termination of their existence a« a naval 
power. 

An Athenian fleet had been de^spatched 
to the assistance of the small Greek Re- 
public of yEgesta, near the western end of Sicily, then 
threatened by Syracuse. 

The Athenian fleet numbered one hundred and thirty- 
four triremes, 25,000 seamen and soldiers, beside trans- 
ports with 6000 spearmen and a proportionate force of 
archers and slingers. This considerable armament was 
designed to cooperate not only in the reduction of Syra- 
cuse, the implacable enemy of the yEgestans, but also to 
endeavor to subdue the whole of the large, rich and 
beautiful island of Sicily, at that time the granary and 
vineyard of the Mediterranean. 

The Greek fleet drew near its destination in fine order, 
and approached and entered Syracuse with trumpets 
sounding and flags displayed, while the soldiers and 
sailors, accustomed to a long succession of victories, and 
regarding defeat as impossible, rent the air with glad 
shouts. 

Syracuse is a large and perfect harbor; completely 



32 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

landlocked, and with a narrow entrance. The Sicilians, 
entirely unprepared to meet the veteran host thus sud- 
denly precipitated upon them, looked upon these demon- 
strations with gloomy forebodings. Fortunately for their 
independence, they had wise and brave leaders, while the 
commander of the great Athenian fleet was wanting in de- 
cision of character and in the ability to combine his forces 
and move quickly; a necessity in such an enterprise as 
his. It therefore happened that the tables were turned, 
and the proud invaders were eventually blockaded in the 
harbor of Syracuse, the people obstructing the narrow 
entrance so as to prevent escape, while the country 
swarmed with the levies raised to resist the invaders by 
land, and to cut them off from all supplies. 

In the meantime the Greeks had seized a spot on the 
shores of the harbor, built a dock yard, and constructed a 
fortified camp. 

Such being the state of affairs, a prompt and energetic 
movement on the part of the Athenians became necessary 
to save them from starvation. Nikias, their commander- 
in-chief, entrusted the fleet to Demosthenes, Menander, 
and Euthydemus, and prepared to fight a decisive battle. 

Taught by recent partial encounters that the beaks of 
the Syracusan triremes were more powerful and de- 
structive than those of his own vessels, he instructed his 
captains to avoid ramming as much as possible, and to 
attack by boarding. His ships were provided with plenty 
of grappling Irons, so that the Sicilians could be secured 
as soon as they rammed the Greek vessels, when a mass 
of veteran Greeks was to be thrown on board, and the 
islanders overcome in a hand-to-hand fight. 

When all was ready the fleet of the Athenian triremes, 
reduced to one hundred and ten in number, but fully 
manned, moved in three grand divisions. Demosthenes 



SYRACUSE. 33 

commanded the van division, and made directly for the 
mouth of the harbor, toward which the Syracusan fleet, 
only seventy-five in number, was also promptly con- 
verorinof. 

The Athenians were cutting away and removing- the 
obstructions at the narrow entrance, when their enemy 
came down rapidly, and forced them to desist from their 
labors, and form line of batde. This they did hurriedly 
and as well as the narrow limits would permit. They 
were soon furiously attacked, on both wings at once, by 
Licanus and Agatharcus, who had moved down close to 
the shore, the one on the right and the other on the left 
hand of the harbor. The Syracusans, by this manoeuvre, 
outflanked the Greeks, who, their flanks being turned, 
were necessarily driven in upon their centre, which point 
was at this critical moment vigorously attacked by the 
Corinthians, the faithful allies of the Syracusans. The 
Corinthian squadron, led by Python, had dashed down the 
middle of the harbor, and attacked, with loud shouts, as 
if assured of victory. Great confusion now ensued among 
the Athenian vessels, caught at a great disadvantage, and 
in each other's way. Many of their triremes were at once 
stove and sunk, and those which remained afloat were so 
hemmed in by enemies that they could not use their oars. 
The strong point of the Athenian fleet had consisted in 
its ability to manoeuvre, and they were here deprived of 
that advantage. 

Hundreds of their drowning comrades were calling for 
assistance, while their countrymen on shore, belonging to 
the army, witnessed their position with despair, being 
unable to come to the rescue. Still, the Athenians fought 
as became their old renown. They often beat off the 
enemy by sheer force of arms, but without avail. The 
Syracusans had covered their forecastles with raw bulls' 



34 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

hides, so that the grappHng irons would not hold for 
boarding; but the Greeks watched for the moment of 
contact, and before they could recoil, leaped boldly on board 
the enemy's triremes, sword in hand. They succeeded 
thus in capturing some Sicilian vessels ; but their own loss 
was frightful, and, after some hours of most sanguinary 
contest, Demosthenes, seeing that a continuance of it 
would annihilate his force, took advantage of a temporary 
break in the enemy's line to give the signal for retreat. 
This was at once beofun; at first in sjfood order, but the 
Syracusans pressing vigorously upon the Athenian rear, 
soon converted it into a disorderly flight, each trying to 
secure his own safety. 

In this condition the Greeks reached the fortified docks, 
which they had built during their long stay, the entrance 
to which was securely guarded by merchant ships, which 
had huge rocks triced up, called " dolphins," of sufficient 
size to sink any vessel upon which they might be dropped. 
Here the pursuit ended, and the defeated and harassed 
A-thenians hastened to their fortified camp, where their 
land forces, with loud lamentations, deplored the event of 
the naval battle, which they had fondly hoped would have 
set them all at liberty. 

The urgent question now was as to the preservation of 
both forces — and that alone. 

That same night Demosthenes proposed that they 
should man their remaining triremes, reduced to sixty in 
number, and try again to force a way out of the harbor ; 
alleging that they were still stronger than the enemy, who 
had also lost a number of ships. Nikias gave consent ; 
but when the sailors were ordered to embark once more, 
they mutinied and flatly refused to do so ; saying that 
their numbers were too much reduced by battle, sickness, 
and bad food, and that there were no seamen of experi- 



SYRACUSE. 



36 



ence left to take the helm, or rowers in sufficient numbers 
for the benches. They also declared that the last had 
been a soldiers' batde, and that such were better fought 
on land. They then set fire to the dock-yard and the 
fleet, and the Syracusan forces appearing, in the midst of 
this mutiny, captured both men and ships. Her fleet 
being thus totally destroyed, Athens never recovered 
from the disaster, and ceased from that day to be a naval 
power. 

The subsequent events in this connection, though inter 
esting and instructive, do not belong to naval history. 




A NORSE GALLEY. 



36 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 




ARTH AGE, the Phenician colony in Africa 
which became so famous and powerful, 
was very near the site of the modern city 
of Tunis. It has been a point of interest for 
twenty centuries. Long after the Fneni- 
cian sway had passed away, and the Arab 
and Saracen had become lords of the soil, 
Louis XI, of France, in the Crusade of i 2 70, 
took possession of the site of the ancient city, only to give 
up his last breath there, and add another to the many 
legends of the spot. The Spaniards afterwards con- 
quered Tunis and held it for a time; and, in our own day, 
the French have again repossessed themselves of th^ 
country, and may retain it long after the events of our 
time have passed into history. 

As soon as Rome rose to assured power, and began 
her course of conquest, trouble with the powerful State 
of Carthaofe ensued. Their clashino- interests soon in- 
volved them in war, and Sicily and the Sicilian waters, 
being necessary to both, soon became their batde ground. 
The Carthaginians had obtained a footing in Sicily, by 
assistine Roman renegades and freebooters of all nations 
who had taken refuge there. The Romans therefore passed 
a decree directing the Consul, Appius Claudius, to cross 
over to Messina and expel the Carthaginians who, from 
that strong point cc ntroUed the passage of the great thor- 



ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 37 

oup^hfare, the strait of the same name. Thus commenced 
the first Punic war. The Romans were ahnost uniformly 
successful upon land, but the Carthaginians, deriving 
nautical skill from their Phenician ancestors, overawed, 
with their fleet, the whole coast of Sicily, and even made 
frequent and destructive descents upon the Italian shores 
themselves. 

The Romans at this time had no ships of war ; but they 
began the construction of a fleet, to cope with their 
enemy, then the undisputed mistress of the seas. 

Just at this time a Carthaginian ship of large size was 
stranded upon the Italian shores, and served as a model 
for the Romans, who, with characteristic energy, in a 
short time put afloat a hundred quinqueremes and twenty 
triremes. No particular description of these vessels is 
necessary, as they were the same in general plan as 
those already spoken of as in use among the Egyptians, 
Phenicians, and Greeks, for centuries. Able seamen 
were obtained from neighboring tributary maritime States, 
and bodies of landsmen were put in training, being exer- 
cised at the oar on shore ; learning to begin and cease 
rowing at the signal. For this purpose platforms were 
erected, and benches placed, as in a galley. 

It will here be necessary to give a short account of the 
Roman naval system, which was now rapidly becoming 
developed and established. As has been said, they had 
paid no attention, before this period, to naval affairs ; an 
were only stirred up to do so by the necessity ol meetin. 
the Carthaginians upon their own element. 

It is true that some authorities say that the first Roman 
ships of war were built upon the model of those of Andum, 
after the capture of that city, A.U. C. 41 7; Ivt the Rorans 
certainly made no figure at sea Liniu the time of the first 
Punic war. 



88 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The Roman ships of war were much longer than their 
merchant vessels, and were principally driven by oars, 
while the merchant ships relied almost entirely upon sails. 

It is a more difficult problem than one would at first sight 
suppose, to explain exactly how the oars were arranged in 
the quadriremes and quinqueremes of which we read. 
The Roman ships were substantial and heavy, and con- 
sequently slow in evolutions, however formidable in line. 
Augustus, at a much later period, was indebted to a 
number of fast, light vessels from the Dalmatian coast, 
for his victory over Antony's heavy ships. 

The ship of the commander of a Roman fleet was dis- 
tinguished by a red flag, and also carried a light at night. 
These ships of war had prows armed with a sharp beak, 
of brass, usually divided into three teeth, or points. They 
also carried towers of timber, which were erected before 
an eneaeement, and whence missiles were discharo-ed. 
They employed both freemen and slaves as rowers and 
sailors. The citizens and the allies of the State were 
obliged to furnish a certain quota of these ; and some- 
times to provide them with pay and provisions ; but the 
wages of the men were usually provided by the State. 

The regular soldiers of the Legions at first fought at 
sea as well as on land; but when Rome came to main- 
tain a permanent fleet, there was a separate class of 
soldiers raised for the sea service, like the marines of 
modern navies. But this service was considered less 
honorable than that of the Legions, and was often per- 
formed by manumitted slaves. The rowers, a still lower 
class, were occasionally armed and aided in attack and 
defence, when boarding; but this was not usual. 

Before a Roman fleet went to sea it was formally 
reviewed, like the land army. Prayers were offered to 
the gods, and victims sacrificed. The auspices were 



ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 39 

consulted, and if any unlucky omen occurred (such as a 
person sneezing on the left of the Augur, or swallows 
alighting on the ships), the voyage was suspended. 

Fleets about to engage were arranged in a manner 
similar to armies on land, with centre, right and left 
wings, and reserve. Sometimes they were arranged in 
the form of a wedge, or forceps, but most frequently in 
a half moon. The admiral sailed round the fleet, in a 
light galley, and exhorted the men, while invocations and 
sacrifices were again offered. They almost always fought 
In calm or mild weather, and with furled sails. The red 
flag was the signal to engage, which they did with trum- 
pets sounding and the crews shouting. The combatants 
endeavored to disable the enemy by striking off the banks 
of oars on one side, or by striking the opposing hulls with 
the beak. They also employed fire-ships, and threw pots 
of combustibles on board the enemy. Many of Antony's 
ships were destroyed by this means. When they returned 
from a successful engagement the prows of the victors 
were decorated with laurel wreaths ; and it was their 
custom to tow the captured vessels stern foremost, to 
signify their utter confusion and helplessness. The 
admiral was honored with a triumph, after a signal 
victory, like a General or Consul who had won a decisive 
land battle ; and columns were erected in their honor, 
which were called Rostral, from being decorated with the 
beaks of ships. 

And now, to return to the imposing fleet which the 
Romans had equipped against the Carthaginians : — 

When all was ready the Romans put to sea; at first 
clinging to their own shores, and practicing in fleet 
tactics. They found their vessels dull and unwieldy, and 
therefore resolved to board the enemy at the first oppor- 
tunity, and avoid as much as possible all manoeuvring. 



40 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

They therefore carried plenty of grappHng-irons, and had 
stages, or gangways, ingeniously arranged upon hinges, 
which fell on board of the enemy, and afforded secure 
bridges for boarding. By this means many victories were 
secured over a people who were much better seamen. 

After various partial engagements with the Carthaginian 
fleet, productive of no definite results, Duilius assumed 
command of the Roman fleet, and steered for Mylce, 
where the Carthaginians, under Hannibal, were lying at 
anchor. 

The latter expected an easy victory, despising the pre- 
tensions of the Romans to seamanship, and they accord- 
ingly left their anchorage in a straggling way, not even 
thinking it worth while to form line of battle to engage 
landsmen. 

Their one hundred and thirty quinqueremes approached 
in detachments, according to their speed, and Hannibal, with 
about thirty of the fastest, came in contact with the Roman 
line, while the rest of his fleet was far astern. Attacked 
on all sides, he soon began to repent of his rashness, and 
turned to fly — but the "corvi" fell, and the Roman 
soldiers, advancing over the gangways, put their enemies 
to the sword. The whole of the Carthaginian van divi- 
sion fell into the Roman hands, without a single ship 
being lost on the part of the latter. Hannibal had fortu- 
nately made his escape in time, in a small boat, and at 

nee proceeded to form the rest of his fleet to resist the 
Roman shock. He then passed from vessel to vessel, 
exhortlne his men to stand firm; but the novel mode of 
attack, and Its great success, had demoralized the Cartha- 
ginians, and they fled before the Roman advance; fifty 
more of Hannibal's fleet being captured. 

Sc ended the first great naval engagement between 
Rome and Carthage; bringing to the former joy and 



(> 



ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 41 

hope of future successes, and to the latter grief and des- 
pondency. 

Duihus, the Consul, had a rostral column of marble 
erected in his honor, in the Roman forum, with his statue 
upon the top. 

Hannibal was soon afterward crucified by his own sea- 
men, in their rage and mortification at their shameful 
defeat. 

Slight skirmishes and collisions continued to occur, 
and both nations became convinced that ultimate success 
could only be obtained by the one which should obtain 
complete mastery of the Mediterranean Sea. Both, there- 
fore, made every effort; and the dock-yards were kept 
busily at work, while provisions, arms, and naval stores 
were accumulated upon a large scale. 

The Romans fitted out three hundred and thirty, the 
Carthaginians three hundred and fifty quinqueremes; 
and in the spring of the year 260 b. c, the rivals took the 
sea, to fight out their quarrel to the bitter end. 

The Roman Consuls Manlius and Regulus had their 
fleet splendidly equipped, and marshaled in divisions, 
with the first and second Lemons on board. Followino- 
was a rear division, with more soldiers, which served as 
a reserve, and as a guard to the rear of the right and left 
flanks. 

Hamilcar, the admiral of the opposing fleet, saw that 
the Roman rear was hampered by the transports which 
they were towing, and resolved to try to separate the 
leading divisions from them; hoping to capture the 
transports, and then the other divisions in detail ; with this 
intention he formed in four divisions. Three were in 
line, at right angles to the course the Romans were 
steering, and the fourth in the order called "forceps." 



42 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The last division was a little in the rear and well to the 
left of the main body. 

Having made his dispositions, Hamilcar passed down 
the fleet in his barge, and reminded his countrymen of 
their ancestral renown at sea, and assured them that their 
former defeat was due, not to the nautical ability of the 
Romans, but to the rash valor of the CarthaQ^inlans 
against a warlike people not ever to be despised. "Avoid 
the prows of the Roman galleys," he continued, " and 
strike them amidships, or on the quarter. Sink them, or 
disable their oars, and endeavor to render their military 
machines, on which they greatly rely, wholly inoperative." 
Loud and continuous acclamations proclaimed the good 
disposition of his men, and Hamilcar forthwith ordered 
the advance to be sounded, signaling the vessels of the 
first division — which would be the first to engage — to 
retreat in apparent disorder when they came down close 
to the enemy. The Carthaginians obeyed his order to 
the letter, and, as if terrified by the Roman array, turned 
in well simulated flight, and were instantly pursued by 
both columns, which, as Hamilcar had foreseen, drew 
rapidly away from the rest of the fleet. When they were 
so far separated as to preclude the possibility of sup- 
port, the Carthaginians, at a given signal, put about, and 
attacked with crreat ardor and resolution, makingr a 
desperate effort to force together the two sides of the 
"forceps" in which the Romans were formed. But these 
facing outward, and always presenting their prows to the 
Carthaginians, remained immovable and unbroken. If 
the Carthao-inians succeeded in ramminir one, those on 
each side of the attacked vessel came to her assistance, and 
thus outnumbered, the Carthaginians did not dare to board. 

While the battle was thus progressing in the centre — 
without decided results — Hanno, who commanded the 



ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 43 

Carthaginian right wing, instead of engaging the left 
Roman cokimn in flank, stretched far out to sea, and bore 
down upon the Roman reserve, which carried the soldiers 
of the Triarii. The Carthaginian reserve, instead of 
attacking the Roman right cokimn, as they evidendy 
should have done, also bore down upon the Roman 
reserve. Thus three disdnct and separate engagements 
were going on at once — all fought most valiandy. Just 
as the Roman reserve was overpowered, and about to 
yield, they saw that the Carthaginian centre was in full 
retreat, chased by the Roman van, while the Roman 
second division was hastening to the assistance of their 
sorely pressed reserve. This sight inspired the latter 
with new courage, and, although they had had many 
vessels sunk, and a few captured, they condnued the fight 
until the arrival of their friends caused their assailant, 
Han no, to hoist the signal for retreat. The Roman third 
division, embarrassed by its convoy, had been driven back 
undl quite close to the land, and while sharp-pointed, 
surf-beaten rocks appeared under their sterns, it was 
attacked on both sides and in front, by the nimble Car- 
thao-inians. Vessel by vessel it was falling into the 
enemy's hands, when Manlius, seeing its cridcal condidon. 
relinquished his own pursuit, and hastened to its relief 
His presence converted defeat into victory, and insured 
the complete triumph of the Roman arms ; so that, while 
the Carthaginians scattered in flight, the Romans, towing 
their prizes stern foremost, as was their custom in victory, 
entered the harbor of Heraclea. 

In this sanguinary and decisive battle thirty of the Car- 
thao-inian and twenty-four of the Roman quinqueremes 
were sent to the bottom, with all on board. Not a single 
Roman vessel was carried ofl" by the enemy; while the 
Romans captured sixty-four ships and their crews. 



44 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERW. 

Commodore Parker, of the U. S. Navy, in commenting 
upon this important naval action, says, "Had Hanno and 
the commander of the Carthaginian reserve done their 
duty faithfully and intelligently upon this occasion, the 
Roman van and centre must have been doubled up and 
defeated, almost instantly ; after which it would have 
been an easy matter to get possession of the others, with 
the transports. Thus the Carthaginians would have 
gained a decisive victory, the effect of which would have 
been, perhaps, to deter the Romans from again making 
their appearance in force upon the sea ; and then, with 
such leaders as Hamilcar, Hasdrubal and Hannibal to 
shape her policy and conduct her armaments, Carthage, 
instead of Rome, might have been the mistress of the 
world. Such are the great issues sometimes impending 
over contending armies and fleets." 

As soon as the Consuls had repaired damages they set 
sail from Heraclea for Africa, where they disembarked an 
army under Regulus ; and most of the naval force, with 
the prisoners, then returned home. Regulus, however, 
soon suffered a defeat, and the Roman fleet had to be des- 
patched to Africa again, in hot haste, to take off the scant 
remnant of his army. Before taking on board the de- 
feated Legions the fleet had another great naval battle, 
and captured a Carthaginian fleet of one hundred and four- 
teen vessels. With the soldiers on board, and their 
prizes in tow, Marcus Emilius and Servius Fulvius, the 
Consuls then in command, determined to return to Rome 
by the south shore of Sicily. This was against the 
earnest remonstrances of the pilots, or sailing masters, 
"who wisely argued that, at the dangerous season when, 
the constellation of Orion being not quite past, and the 
Dog Star just ready to appear, it were far safer to go 
North about." 



ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 45 

The Consuls, who had no Idea of being advised by 
mere sailors, were unfortunately not to be shaken in their 
determination ; and so, when Sicily was sighted, a course 
was shaped from Lylybeum to the promontory of Pachy- 
mus. The fleet had accomplished about two-thirds of 
this distance, and was just opposite a coast where there 
were no ports, and where the shore was high and rocky, 
when, with the going down of the sun, the north wind, 
which had been blowing steadily for several days, 
suddenly died away, and as the Romans were engaged 
in furling their flapping sails they observed that they were 
heavy and wet with the falling dew, the sure precursor of 
the terrible "Scirocco." Then the pilots urged the Consuls 
to pull directly to the southward, that they might have 
sea room sufficient to prevent them from being driven on 
shore when the storm should burst upon them. But 
this, with the dread of the sea natural to men unaccus- 
tomed to contend with it, they refused to do; not com- 
prehending that, although their quinqueremes were illy 
adapted to buffet the waves, anything was better than a 
lee shore, with no harbor of refuge. 

The north wind sprang up again after a little, cheering 
the hearts of the inexperienced, blew In fitful gusts for an 
hour or more, then died nearly away, again sprang up, 
and finally faded out as before. The seamen knew what 
this portended. "Next came a flash of lightning in the 
southern sky; then a line of foam upon the southern sea; 
the roaring of Heaven's artillery in the air above, and 
of the breakers on the beach below— and the tempest was 
upon them !" From this time all order was lost, and the 
counsels and admonitions of the pilots unheeded. The 
Roman fleet was completely at the mercy of the hurri- 
cane, and the veterans who had borne themselves bravely 
in many a hard fought battle ^^^iUi their fellow man, now, 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

completely demoralized in the presence of this new 
danger, behaved more like maniacs than reasonable beings. 
Some advised one thing, some another ; but nothing 
sensible was done — and when the orale broke, out of four 
hundred and sixty-four quinqueremes (an immense fleet) 
three hundred and eighty had been dashed upon the 
rocks and lost. 

The whole coast was covered with fragments of wreck 
and dead bodies; and that which Rome had been so many 
years in acquiring, at the cost of so much blood, labor, and 
treasure, she lost in a few hours, through the want of 
experienced seamen in command. 

Durinof the succeeding- Punic wars Rome and Carthage 
had many another well contested naval engagement. 

Adherbal captured ninety-four Roman vessels off 
Drepanum, but the dogged courage of the Roman was 
usually successful. 

We have few details of these engagements. What the 
Romans gained in batde was often lost by them in ship- 
wreck; so that, at the end of the firs.t Punic war, which 
lasted twenty-four years, they had lost seven hundred 
quinqueremes, and the vanquished Carthaginians only five 
hundred. 

At the time spoken of, when the Romans were fighting 
the (.'arthaginians, the former were a free, virtuous and 
patriotic people. No reverses cast them down; no loss 
of life discouraged them. 

After a lapse of two hundred years, Marcus Brutus and 
Cassius being dead, and public virtue scoffed at and fast 
expiring, an arbitrary government was in process of 
erection upon the ruins of the Republic. 

The triumvirate had been dissolved, and Octavius and 
Antony, at the head of vast armies and fleets, were pre- 



ROMANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 



47 



paring, on opposite sides of the Gulf of Ambracia, to 
submit their old quarrel to the arbitrament of the sword. 
In this emergency Antony's old officers and soldiers, 
whom he had so often led to victory, naturally hoped 
that, assuming the offensive, he would draw out his 
legions, and, by his ability and superior strategy, force 
his adversary from the field. But, bewitched by a woman, 
the greatest captain of the age — now that Cassar and 
Pompey were gone — had consented to abandon a faithful 
and devoted army, and to rely solely upon his fleet; 
which, equal to that of Octavius in numbers, was far 
inferior in discipline and drill, and in experience of actual 
combat. 




KoMAN (jALLEY. 



48 KAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



ACTIUM. B. C. u 



y 



SCENB VII. Near Actiinn, 'Antony's Camp. 
Enter Antony and Canidius. 



Ant. Is it not strange, Caniditt^ 

That from Tarentum and Brundusiuni 

He could so quickly cut the Ionian Sea, 

And taken in Toryne? you have heard on't, sweet? 
Cleo. Celerity is never more admired 

Than by the negligent. 
Ant. A good rebuke, 

Which might have well becomed the best of men. 

To taunt at slackness. Canidius, we 

Will fight with hini by sea. 
Cleo. By sea! What else? 

Canid. Why will my lord do so ? 
Ant. For that he dares us to 't. 
Enob. So hath my lord dared him to single fight. 
Canid. Ay, and to wage this battle at Pharsalia, 

Where Ciesar fought with Pompey : but these offers 

Which serve not for his vantage he shakes off; 

And so should you. 
Enob. Your ships are not well mann'd ; 

Your mariners are muleteers, reapers, people 

Ingrossed by swift impress ; in Caesar's fleet 

Are those that often have 'gainst Pompey fought; 

Their ships are yare ; yours, heavy ; no disgrace 

Shall fall you for refusing him at sea. 

Being prepared for land. 
Ant. By sea, by sea. 

Enob, Most worthy sir, you therein throw away 

The absolute soldierrjhip you have by land ; 

Distract your army, which doth most consist 



ACTIUM. 



49 



Of war-mark' d footmen ; leave unexecuted 
Your own renowned knowledge ; quite forego 
The way which promises assurance ; and 
Give up yourself merely to chance and hazard, 
From firm security. 

/t)it. I'll fight at sea 

Cleo. I have sixty sails, Caesar none better. 

A)it. Our overplus of shipping will we burn ; 

And, with the rest full mann'd, from the head of Actium, 
Beat the approaching Caesar. But if we fail, 
We then can do 't at land. 

Shakespeare — Antony and Cleopatra. 




I HILIPPI, the decisive battle between Octa- 
vius and Brutus and Cassius, took place 
B. C. 42. Octavius, who afterward as- 
sumed the name of Augustus, is very differ- 
ently described by historians. It is said 
that he did not fight at Philippi ; and he is 
called a coward by some writers, who de- 
clare that he was always sick on critical 
days. Be that as it may, it seems certain that Antony 
fought that batde, although Octavius got the credit of 
success with the Roman public, which soon endowed him 
with every quality which goes to make the title of 
"August," which tide he was the first to bear ; being the 
favorite of the citizens, much more by reason of his 
ancestry, and by the judicious bestowal of offices and of 
money, than by feats of arms. 

After their victory at Philippi, Antony and Octavius 
divided the empire of the world between them. But the 
two were devoured by an equal ambition ; and, although 
a common danger had for a time lulled their mutual sus- 
picion and dislike, and forced them to act in unison, har- 



50 NAVAL BATIXES, ANCIENT AND MODERN, 

mony between them could not long continue. Neither of 
them wished to share empire, and each was determined 
that the other, sooner or later, should be forced to 
renounce power, if not life itself The repudiation of 
Octavia the sister of Octavius, by Antony, added increased 
fuel to the fires of hatred, and we learn from contem- 
porary writers that clear-sighted persons not only fore- 
saw that a death struggle between the two great leaders 
was only a question of time, but they predicted the result, 
as Antony, in the midst of feasts and other dissipation, 
was fast losing that activity of mind and body which had 
brought him his successes, and had, in former days, 
gained him the esteem and confidence of Caesar. 

While Antony was placing his laurels and his renown 
under the feet of an Egyptian queen, the cool and astute 
Octavius, never losing sight of the end he had in view, 
turned to his own aggrandizement and elevation, in the 
estimation of the Roman people, Antony's disgraceful 
conduct. 

The future Augustus, with the full consent of the Senate, 
raised fresh legions in Italy, equipped a fleet, and made 
every preparation for an enterprise upon which was to 
depend the control of the whole civilized world. 

As if Antony had taken pains to furnish his already too 
powerful rival with the pretexts which should serve as a 
mask to his ambitious views, the former caused general 
disgust and indignation at Rome by dismembering the 
Empire — so to speak — in the interests of Cleopatra, whom 
he proclaimed Queen of Cyprus, Cilicia, Coelesyria, 
Arabia and Judea ; while he gave to the two sons whom 
he had had by her the tide of "King of Kings." This 
insane defiance of the susceptibility and pride of the 
Republic was one of the principal causes of Antony's de- 
struction. People ceased to fear him when they learned 



ACTIUM. 51 

that he had become habitually intemperate ; and they no 
longer saw in him a redoubtable and successful Roman 
general, but an Eastern Satrap, plunged in pleasure and 
debauchery. 

Octavius, affecting rather contempt than anger at 
Antony's proceedings, declared war against Cleopatra 
only, and seemed to regard Antony as already deprived 
Df the power and majesty which he had sullied in 
committing them to the hands of the Egyptian queen. 

Octavius could only raise on the Italian peninsula, then 
exhausted by civil war, 80,000 legionaries, with 12,000 
cavalry, and two hundred and fifty ships — a small force 
to oppose to the five hundred ships and i 20,000 men of 
Antony, without counting the allied troops which his 
rival was able to bring against him. But, more active 
and daring than Antony, he had, with astonishing celerity, 
collected his forces, and crossed the Ionian Sea, while 
Antony was lingering in Samos, and indulging in all sorts 
of debasing pleasures, with litde thought devoted to pre- 
paradon for the inevitable and momentous strugo-le. 

At last the imminence of the danger awoke him to the 
realides surrounding him, and he brought forward his 
powerful fleet, anchoring it near the promontory of 
Actium, in Epirus, ready to oppose the advance of 
Octavius. 

His ships were double in number those of the Romans, 
well armed and equipped, but heavy, and badly manned, 
so that their manoeuvres did not compare in celerity with 
those of the western fleet. 

Although Octavius had fewer ships and fewer men, 
those which he had were Romans; and he was fio-htino-, 
ostensibly, to vindicate the wounded pride and honor of 
his country, which had been trampled under foot by 
Antony and a stranger queen. 



62 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The generals of Antony united in imploring hint not to 
jonfide his destiny to the uncertainty of winds and waves, 
ut to give battle on shore, where, they answered for it, 
victory would perch upon their banners. But Antony 
remained deaf to their supplications, and Cleopatra, who 
had joined him with seventy Egyptian ships, also pre- 
ferred to fight a naval battle; it is said, in order that, if 
her lover was vanquished, she herself could more easily , 
escape. 

Boldly searching for Antony, the Roman fleet came in 
contact with his, near the promontory of Actium. 

On opposite shores of the bay partly formed by that 
promontory lay the two armies, spectators of a conflict 
which was to decide their fate, but in which they were not 
to join. 

The wind and weather were both favorable, but the two 
fleets remained for a long time opposite to each other, 
as if hesitatino- to beofin the struo-o-le, the issue of which 
was fraught with such momentous consequences. 

Antony had confided the command of his left wing to 
Ccelius; the centre to Marcus Octavius and Marcus 
luteins ; while he himself, with Valerius Publicola, assumed 
command of the riofht wine. 

The fleet of Octavius was commanded by Agrippa, to 
whom all the glory of the victory is due. Octavius and 
his admiral at first regarded with surprise and uneasiness 
the immobility of the enemy, who were ensconced in the 
arm of the sea, which sheet of water contained many shoals 
and reefs, and therefore, if the enemy remained there, 
deprived Octavius of the advantage to be derived from 
the rapidity of manoeuvre of his vessels. 

But Antony's officers, eager to show their prowess, 
proceeded to get their left wing under way, and moved 
to the attack of Octavius' right. The latter, taking advan- 



ACTIUM. 53 

tage of this false move, made a retrograde movement^ 
and endeavored to draw out the whole opposing force 
from their commanding position unto the high sea, where 
the Romans would have room to manoeuvre, and thereby 
successfully assail Antony's heavier vessels. 

At this moment the scene was grand. The flashing 
of arms, and glinting of the sun upon polished casques, 
the streaming flags, and thousands of oars simultaneously 
put in motion, gave life and animation ; while the blare 
of the brazen trumpets and the shouts of the myriads of 
combatants were echoed from the shores by the cheers 
and cries of two large armies, each encouraging its own 
fleet, and inciting them to the greater exertion. 

Cleopatra's large and magnificent galley hovered in 
the rear of the fleet, with the purple sails furled, and the 
poop occupied by herself and her ladies, surrounded by 
all the splendor of the Egyptian court. 

Thinking, as we have said, that Octavius' fleet fled 
before them, Antony and his commanders abandoned 
their advantageous position, and followed Agrippa out to 
sea. 

Once there, the Roman fleet quickly put about, in good 
order, and a terrible battle at once began — Roman dis- 
puting with Roman the empire of the world. 

At last an able movement of Agrippa caused Antony's 
centre to givq way; but despite the disorder which 
resulted, the action was steadily maintained, the losses on 
each side being about equal, and victory undecided. 

The force of Agrippa made up by celerity of move- 
ment for the greater number of Antony's fleet, and the 
batde was at its height, when, suddenly, Cleopatra, panic- 
stricken by the noise and dreadful carnage, gave a sio-nal 
for retreat, hoisted her purple sails, and, with the whole 
Egyptian contingent, retreated rapidly, leaving a great 



54 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

gap in the line of battle. Some were sunk by the beaks 
of their pursuers, but the majority made their escape, and 
Were soon far from the scene. 

This shameful action should have opened Antony's 
eyes, and have stimulated him — being even yet superior 
in numbers — to repair by renewed exertions the defection 
of the beautiful c;[ueen. But his movements seemed to be 
controlled by her's, and, forgetting his own honor, his 
former glory, his empire, and his duty as commander, as 
a soldier and as a man, he abandoned the brave sea- 
men and soldiers who were fighting for him, and took a 
fast, lio^ht vessel, and followed the woman who had been 
his ruin, and at whose shrine he was about to offer as a 
sacrifice the dishonor of Caesar's greatest lieutenant. 

It is said that for some time he sat upon the deck, his 
head bowed between his hands, and wrapped in his own 
thoughts. But he only regained sufficient command of 
himself to resolve to protect the cause of his ruin. He 
therefore continued his flight to the promontory of 
Tenaros ; and then soon after learned of the entire defeat 
of his fleet. 

Even after being thus shamefully abandoned by their 
commander, his troops and sailors had for a long time 
maintained the combat; but bad weather coming on they 
at last surrendered, after a loss of five thousand killed, and 
having three hundred ships captured, with their crews. 

For a long time the land forces of Antony could not 
believe in his defection, and looked for him to reappear, 
and, at their head, redeem the fortunes of the sea fight. 
Indeed, for many days after the victory they declined the 
overtures of Octavius. But at last, despairing of Antony's 
return, their general, with his principal officers and the 
troops, passed under the banners of Octavius. This 
event left him the undisputed master of the world. 



ACTIUM. 



55 



Upon his return to Rome he was decreed a three days' 
triumph, and he now assumed in pubHc the imperial 
powers which he had long virtually possessed. 

The shocking death of both Antony and Cleopatra, by 
suicide, hardly belongs to the account of Actium, although 
the direct consequence of the overwhelming defeat there 
sustained. 




THE PTOLEMY PHlLOPATER — 405 B. C. 

(Constructed by Ptolemy Philopater, of Egypt, after a Greek Model.) 



56 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



LEPANTO. A. D. 1571. 



mi^^Sl I^TEEN hundred years after Actium 

3^^^^^^^ another great naval battle took place upon 

vS3,;^^f|[| the coast of Greece. It was of momentous 

f^d^ importance, as it is not too much to say that 
f7^ it decided the future fate and sovereignty 
^/ of at least the eastern part of Europe. 
X ^ Before we speak of Lepanto, however, it 
^■^ may be well to glance at naval events for 
two or three centuries previous to the eventful year 1571. 
After the Republic of Venice had become strong, their 
first o-reat sea fio-ht was with the Saracens, then a terror 
to all the Christian nations of the Mediterranean. The 
Venetians, at the solicitation of the EmperOx Theodosius, 
cooperated with the Greeks against their implacable 
enemy. The hostile fleets met atCrotona, in the Gulf of 
Taranto, where the Greeks tied at the first onset of the 
Saracens, leaving their Venetian allies to fight against 
vastly superior numbers. In spite of their courage 
and constancy, which maintained the unequal fight for 
many hours, the Venetians were defeated, and lost nearly 
every one of the sixty ships which they took into the 
fight. 

Twenty-five years afterwards the Venetian fleet met 
the Saracens again, almost in the very spot of their 
former discomfiture, and obtained a splendid victory ; and 
their naval fights continued, almost without intermission, 



LEPANTO. 57 

and with varying fortunes ; the Venetians, on the whole, 
holding their own. 

On February 13th, 1353, there was a remarkable naval 
fight between the allied fleets of Venice, Aragon, and 
Constantinople, and the Genoese fleet, under the com- 
mand of the redoubtable Paganino Doria. The Genoese 



were victorious. 



In spite of the successful achievements of Doria, which 
should have brought him the respect and support of his 
contrymen, he was supplanted by his bitter foe, Antonio 
Grimaldi, who was put In command of the fleet. He was, 
not long after, defeated by the allied fleets of Spain and 
Venice, with tremendous loss. Grimaldi, thereupon, fell 
out of favor; and the next year the Genoese were 
obliged to again place Doria in command of their fleet, 
with which he gained a great victory over the Venetians 
at Porto Longo, capturing the whole of their fleet. 

Peace between the two Republics was then made, and 
condnued until 1378, when war was again declared. 
Victor Pisani, In command of the fleet of Venice, had a 
successful batde with the Genoese off Actium, the 
scene of the wonderful fight just before the commence- 
ment of the Christian era. 

In 1379 Pisani was forced by the Venetian Senate, 
against his own judgment, to fight a far superior Genoese 
fleet, under Luciano Doria, off Pola, In the Adrladc. The 
Venetian fleet was almost annihilated, and Pisani, on his 
return, was loaded with chains, and thrown into a 
dungeon. The Genoese, after burning several Venetian 
towns upon the Adrladc, appeared off Venice, entered 
the lagoon, took Chioggia, and filled the Venetians with 
consternation and terror. The people flocked to the 
Piazza San Marco, in thousands, and demanded that 
Pisani be restored to the command of the fleet. The 



58 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

authorities were at their wits' ends, and consented, while 
Pisani, with true patriotism, condoned liis wrongs and ill 
treatment, and applied himself at once to the work of 
organization. After unheard of exertions he succeeded 
in discomtiting the enemy, and Venice was saved. 

Pisani afterwards made a cruise in command of the 
fleet on the Asiatic coast, but, worn out by hard service 
and his former ill treatment, he died soon after his return, 
to the common sorrow and remorse of all Venetians. 

The Turks took Constantinople in 1453, and the con- 
tests between them and the Venetians continued with 
even greater bitterness; and after the capture of Cyprus 
by the Moslems, and the fitting out by the Sultan Selim 
of an immense and powerful fleet, it became evident to 
the western world that some supreme effort should be 
put forth to curb the advance of the Turkish power. 

Let us now glance at the state of affairs about the time 
of Lepanto. 

The latter part of the i 6th century was a stirring and 
eventful period in the world's history. 

Charles V had resigned his empire to that sullen bigot, 
his son, Philip II. 

About the same time Moscow was being burned by 
the Tartars; the Russians having been the abject subjects 
of the Tartars but a few years before. 

Prussia, so powerful to-day, was then a small hereditary 
duchy, Lutheran in religion, and still a fief of Poland. 
The Poles were then a much more powerful nation than 
the Russians. 

The States of the north. Sweden and Denmark, were 
very strong, and made their influence felt in all Europe. 
Tycho Brahe, the subject of the latter, was then a young- 
man. 



LEPANTO. 59 

Portugal, from her brilliant maritime discoveries, had 
extended relations with Japan, China, India and Brazil ; 
and had rendered Lisbon the market of the world, usurp- 
ing the place of Antwerp. Her decline was, however, 
soon to follow. 

Soon after Lepanto, Holland, driven to despairing 
effort by the tyranny of Philip, revolted, and William of 
Orange became Stadtholder. He was succeeded by 
Maurice, whose efforts to secure independence were so 
ably seconded by Elizabeth of England, as to draw down 
upon the latter nation the vengeance of Philip, shown 
later in the despatch of his grand Armada, but a very few 
years after the event of Lepanto. 

The Church of England had been established, and 
Elizabeth was enjoying her splendid reign. Sir Walter 
Raleigh, Drake, and other heroes of the sea were then 
young men. 

Florence was about to enjoy her highest distinction as 
the home of learning and art, under Cosmo de Medici, 
and Pius V was Pope ; one of the greatest that ever 
occupied the Papal throne. 

Rodolph, of Hapsburg, had had his fierce struggle with 
the Turks, by land ; but Austria then had no naval force. 

In France the weak and bloody Charles IX was upon 
the throne, and the massacre of Saint Bartholomew was 
close at hand. 

And now, to come to the great event of Lepanto, which 
decided the question of supremacy between Christianity 
and Islamism. 

The Turks had captured Cyprus ; possessed almost 
irresistible power, and everything looked very dark for 
Christendom. 

But in spite of the connivance of Charles IX in their 
advance, who by this base conduct preluded the gre3<; 



60 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

crime of his reign; in spite of the calculated inaction of 
England; the timidity of Austria; the exhaustion of 
Poland, after a long war with still barbarous Muscovy, 
the genius of Christianity took a fresh flight, and the star 
of the west once more rose in the ascendant. 

The honor of being the head of the effort at resistance 
to the encroaching Turkish power, and of victorious 
reprisals, belongs especially to Pope Pius V, a simple 
monk who had been exalted to the Pontifical throne ; 
a zealous and austere priest, of a disposition naturally 
violent, which had been subdued by experience, foresight, 
and real crreatness of soul. 

o 

This Pontiff, upon the first menace of the Turks against 
Cyprus, bestirred himself to form a league of several 
Christian States. 

A crusade was no longer possible, from the condition 
of Europe, which was divided by religious schism, and by 
the ambition of princes. But, if the Pope could no longer 
send the whole of Europe to a holy war, such as was 
condemned by Luther as unjust and inhuman, he could 
at least, as a temporal prince, take his part in active 
operations. 

Not even the coolness and calculated slowness of 
Philip of Spain — the Monarch from whom he had a right 
to expect the most assistance — could arrest the zeal of the 
ardent and generous Pontiff, who saw that the time had 
come for Christendom to conquer or submit. 

Philip II, who was without mercy for the Mahomedans 
still scattered throuMiout his dominions, nevertheless 
hesitated to enter upon a struggle with the Turks ; and 
above all did he dislike to defend Venice against them — 
so much did he envy the latter her rich commerce. 

The first power asked to join the league against Selim, 
he only finally consented upon being given by the Pope 



LEPANTO. 61 

the revenues of the church throughout his vast realm, 
for as long as the war should last. But even this gilded 
bait became the source of delay, the avaricious and 
cunning monarch deferring preparations, and multiply- 
ing obstacles to the undertaking, so as to profit as long 
as possible from the rich revenue derived from that 
source. 

Thus it happened that, by his delay, in spite of the 
coalidon, and of the allied fleet, equal in number and 
superior in condition and discipline to that of the Turks, 
the Island of Cyprus was captured, after stubborn sieges 
of its two capitals, Nicosia and Famagousta, without any 
assistance from the rest of Christendom. 

Famagousta was captured after a very prolonged and 
obstinate defence, which had been conducted at the 
expense of fifty thousand lives to the Turks, who had 
made six general assaults. Finally the city was allowed 
to capitulate on honorable terms. Mustapha. the same 
fierce Moslem general who had conducted the siege of 
Malta, requested four of the principal Venetian leaders to 
meet him at his quarters. Here a short and angry con- 
ference ensued, when, in violation of the terms of the 
capitulation, Mustapha ordered three of them to instant 
execution. But he reserved Bragadino, who had held the 
supreme command during the siege, and ordered him to 
have his ears cut off, and to be set to work to carry earth 
to repair the works. After a few days of this humiliation 
Mustapha caused him to be flayed alive, in the public 
market place. This horrible sentence was not only carried 
into effect, but his skin was stuffed and suspended from 
the yard arm of Mustapha's galley; and, with this shocking- 
trophy thus displayed, he returned to Constandnople. 
Here he was rewarded by Selim for the capture of 
Cyprus. These terrible events added fuel to the flame 



62 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of revenge which the Venetians feh, and were, of course, 
additional incentives to their alHes. 

The capture of Cyprus, and the disgraceful events 
following it, aroused the indignation of all Europe. The 
iron yoke of the Turk, with his following hosts of Asiatic 
robbers and cut-throats, owing to the delay in relief, 
extended over the whole of the large, rich and populous 
island, 

Pius V, in terrible grief at these events, and full of 
foreboding for the future, made himself heard throughout 
Europe ; and with renewed ardor he insisted upon 
carrying out the treaty of alliance already made, the 
assembly of the allied fleet, and upon vengeance upon 
the Ottomans, since succor for Cyprus would arrive too 
late. 

The greatest mark of his terrible earnestness was the 
assembling of a Pontifical fleet and army — a thing 
unheard of at that time. The Pope gave the command 
to a member of the very ancient Roman family of 
Colonna. 

In the latter part of 1571, five months after the capture 
of O^i^i-ii^, the Christian armament appeared upon the 
Mediterranean, consisting of galleys to the number of two 
hundred, with galleasses, transports and other vessels, 
carrying fifty thousand soldiers. Then immediately 
followed the most important event of the sixteenth 
century. 

The Christian fleet made rendezvous at Messina ; 
whence Sebastian Veniero, the Venetian admiral, would 
have sailed at once, and have sought the enemy without 
delay, so much did he fear for the Venetian posses- 
sions in the Adriatic, from the rapid advance of the 
Ottomans. 

But Don John, the supreme commander, with a pru- 



LEPANTO. 63 

dence worthy of an older and less fiery man, would not 
move until he was strengthened by every possible rein- 
forcement, as he wished to use every means in his power to 
avoid a defeat which must be a final and crushing one to 
the side which should lose. He was certain that the 
great resources of the Ottoman empire would, on this 
supreme occasion, be strained to the utmost to equip 
their greatest armament. During this delay the Pope 
proclaimed a jubilee — granting indulgences to all engaged 
in the expedition — such as had formerly been given to the 
deliverers of the Holy Sepulchre. 

On September i6th, the magnificent armanent, unri- 
valed since the days of imperial Rome, put to sea from 
Messina. They were bafiled by rough seas and head 
winds on the Calabrian coast, and made slow progress. 
The commander had sent a small squadron in advance, 
for intelligence. They returned with the news that the 
Turks were still in the Adriatic, with a powerful fleet, 
and had committed fearful ravages upon the Venetian 
territories. The fleet then steered for Corfu, and reached 
there on September 26th, seeing for themselves traces of 
the enemy in smoking towns and farms, and deserted 
fields and vineyards. The islanders welcomed them, and 
furnished what they could of needed supplies. 

Don John seems to have had his own plans: but he 
now called a council, because courtesy required that he 
should consult the commanders of the Allies — and be- 
cause he had promised Philip to do so — the latter fearing 
his fiery and impetuous disposition. 

The opinions were divided — as is always the case in 
councils of war. Those who had had personal experience of 
Turkish naval prowess appeared to shrink from encount- 
ering so formidable an armament, and would have confined 
the operations of the Christian fleet to besieging some 



64 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

city belonging to the Moslems. Even Doria, the old sea- 
dog, whose life had been spent in fighting the infidel, 
thought it was not advisable to attack the enemy in his 
present position, surrounded as he was by friendly 
shores, whence he could obtain aid and reinforcement. 
He wished to attack Navarino, and thus draw the enemy 
from the gulf where he was anchored, and force him to 
give battle in the open sea. But, strange to say (for a 
proverb has it that councils of war never fight), die 
majority took a different view, and said that the object 
of the expedition was to destroy the Ottoman fleet, and 
that a better opportunity could not present itself than 
when they were shut in a gulf, from which, if defeated, 
they could not escape. 

The most influential of the council held these views : 
among them the Marquis of Santa Cruz, Cardona, the 
commander of the Sicilian squadron, Barberigo, second 
in command of the Venetians, Grand Commander Re- 
quesens, Colonna, and young Alexander Farnese, Prince 
of Parma — the nephew of Don John, who was seeing his 
first service now, but who was to become, in time, the 
greatest captain of his age. 

Thus supported in his judgment, the young com- 
mander-in-chief resolved to orive the Turks battle in the 
position they had chosen. But he was delayed by weather, 
and other causes, and the enemy were not actually 
met until October 7th. 

The Ottoman fleet, two hundred strong, rowed by 
Christian slaves, and accompanied by numbers of trans- 
ports, was moored in a gulf upon the Albanian coast, 
while the Christian fleet, seeking its enemy, came down 
from the north, led by the galleys of the Venetian con- 
tingent. 

As the time of conflict approached, the commander-in- 



LEPANTO. 65 

chief, Don John, rose superior to the timid counsels of the 
generals of Philip II, who accompanied him, and who 
were, in a manner, charged with his safety. 

Don John, of Austria, was the natural son of Charles 
V, but was fully recognized, not only by his father, but by 
Philip, his legitimate brother, who originally intended him 
for high ecclesiastical dignities. But Don John early 
showed great predilection for the profession of arms, and 
was conspicuous during the revolt of the Moors of 
Grenada. In 1570, when only twenty-six years old, he 
received the supreme command of the Spanish fleet; and 
his ability and success justified an appointment which was 
due to favoritism. 

After Lepanto he conquered Tunis, and the idea was 
entertained of founding a Christian kingdom there, for 
him ; but the jealousy of his arbitrary and suspicious 
brother prevented this. He then received the governor- 
ship of the Low Countries, succeeding the notorious and 
bloody Duke of Alva, and he there died, In his camp at 
Namur, in 1578, aged thirty-three. It is said that he was 
about to undertake an expedition to deliver Mary 
Stuart, at the time of his death, which was attributed by 
some to poison. 

Don John was one of the remarkable soldiers of his 
time. Generous, frank, humane, he was beloved by both 
soldiers and citizens. He was a fine horseman, handsome, 
well made, and graceful, 

Don John's principal force, in ships and fighting men, 
was Italian ; for, besides the twelve galleys of the Pope, 
and those of Genoa, Savoy, and other Italian States and 
cities, many were contributed by rich and generous Italian 
private citizens. The greater number, however, were 
Venetian ; this State contributing- one hundred and six 
" royal galleys " and six galleasses. The galleasses were 
5 



Q6 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

large ships, rather dull as sailers, but carrying forty or 
fifty pieces of cannon. 

Among the complement of the Venetians were many 
Greeks — either refugees from the Morea, or recruited in 
Candia, Corfu, and other islands, then subject to the 
Venetian power. In keeping with the jealous policy of 
Venice, none of these subjects had any maritime com- 
niand or military rank ; but they fought valiantly under the 
llag of St. Marc, which lost in the battle its chief admiral 
and fifteen captains. 

The Spaniards had about eighty galleys ; but had also 
a number of brigantines, and vessels of small size — and 
were better manned than the Venetians — so that Don 
John drafted several thousand men from the other Italian 
ships, and from those of Spain, to make good the Vene- 
tian complement. Veniero, the Venetian Admiral, took 
great offence at this, and much trouble arose from it, but 
the imminence of the conflict and the importance of the 
result to Venice prevented him from withdrawing his 
force, as he at first threatened to do. 

The total number of men on board the allied fleet was 
eighty thousand. The galleys, impelled principally by 
Dars, required a large number of rowers. Of the 29,000 
soldiers embarked, 19,000 were sent by Spain. They 
were good troops, officered by men of reputation, and most 
of them illustrious, not only for family, but for military 
achievement. It was so also with the Venetian officers, 
as it should have been — for her very existence was at 
stake, unless the Turks were defeated. 

Don John himself arranged the order of battle ; and, 
standing erect in a fast pulling boat, clad in his armor, 
and bearing in his hand a crucifix, he pulled round the 
fleet, exhorting the Allies, by voice and gesture, to make 
a common cause, and without reference to the flags they 



t.EPANTO. 67 

bore, to act as one nationality in the face of the common 
foe. 

He then returned to his own galley, where a staff of 
young Castilian and Sardinian nobles awaited him, and 
unfurled the great banner of the League, presented by 
the Pope, and bearing the arms of Spain, Venice and 
the Pope, bound together by an endless chain. 

The Real, or Admiral's galley of Don John, was of 
great size, and had been built in Barcelona, at that time 
famous for naval architecture. Her stern was highly 
decorated with emblems and historical devices, while her 
interior was furnished most luxuriously. But, most of 
all, she excelled in strength and speed, and right well did 
she do her part when exposed to the actual test of batde. 

Lepanto was fought on Sunday. The weather was 
beautiful, and the sun shone in splendor upon the pecu- 
liarly clear blue water of those seas. 

The sight on that morning must have been surpass- 
ingly grand. The beautiful galleys, with their numerous 
oars dashing the water into foam ; gaudy pennons stream- 
ing from the picturesque lateen yards ; gaily painted 
hulls, decorated with shields and armorial insignia ; cul- 
verins mounted at the prows, with matches smoking ; the 
decks filled with men in polished armor and gay plumes, 
and armed with sword and spear, matchlock and arque- 
bus, cross-bow and petronel. Shouts of command and 
of enthusiam went up amid a brandishing of weapons, 
while an occasional hush occurred when the holy fathers 
of the church eave absolution to those who were about 
to meet the fierce infidel. 

More than half the ships carried at their mast-heads 
the Lion of St. Marc, which waved over the sturdy sea- 
dogs of Venice, while other divisions showed the red and 
yellow of Spain, the white, with crossed keys and triple 



68 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

mitre of the Pope, or the varied ensigns of the Italian 
cities. 

On the other side were the Turks, with their numerous 
and powerful galleys, mostly pulled by Christian slaves, 
who were driven by cruel blows to put forth their utmost 
strength against their co-religionists; for in every galley, 
Turkish or Christian, where slaves worked the oars, there 
extended between the benches of the rowers, fore and 
aft, a raised walk, on which two or three boatswains, with 
long rods, walked back and forth, dealing heavy blows 
upon those who were not thought to be doing their utmost 
atthe oars. The slaves were shackled to the benches when 
they rowed ; and never left them, day or night. Their food 
and clothing were scanty, and the filth about them was 
seldom cleared away, except by the rain from heaven, or 
the seas, which sometimes washed on board. The fight- 
ing men of the galleys were mostly on the fore-deck, and 
on outside galleries, or platforms above the gunwales. 

The Turks had the wild music which they love to 
encourage their fighting men, kettle-drums and pipes, 
cymbals and trumpets. The horse-tails of the Pashas 
streamed from the poops of their galleys, as with loud 
cries they appealed to Allah to deliver the Christian dogs 
once more into their hands. And there was every reason 
to suppose that their wish would be fulfilled, for they had 
the stronger force, and carried with them the prestige 
of former victories won over the best eftbrts of the 
Christians. 

THE BATTLE. 

On the morning of the memorable 7th of October the 
Chrisdan fleet weighed anchor for Lepanto, at two hours 
before dawn. The wind was light, but adverse, and oars 
had to be used. At sunrise they came up with a group 



LEPANTO. 69 

of rocky islets which form the northern cape of the Gulf 
of Lepanto. The rowers labored hard at the oars, while 
all others strained their eyes for the first glimpse of the 
great Moslem fleet. At length they were descried from 
the masthead of the Real, and almost at the same 
moment by Andrew Doria, who commanded on the right. 

Don John ordered his pennon to be displayed, unfurled 
the banner of the Christian League, and fired a gun, ti 
preconcerted signal for battle. 

This was answered by an exultant shout fiom all the 
ships. 

The principal captains now came on board the Real, 
to receive their final orders; and a few, even then, 
doubted the propriety of fighting, but Don John sternly 
said, "Gentlemen, this Is the time for battle, and not for 
counsel!" and the armada was at once deployed in fight- 
ing array, according to orders previously issued. 

When ready for battle the Christian force had a front 
of three miles. On the extreme right was Doria, whose 
name was jusdy held in terror by the Moslem, with sixty- 
four galleys. In the centre, conslsdng of sixty-t'u-ee 
galleys, was Don John, supported on one side by 
Colonna, and on the other by Veniero. In his rear was 
the Grand Commander Requesens, his former tutor in 
military matters. The left wing was commanded by 
Barberigo, a Venetian noble, who was to keep his vessels 
as near the i^tollan coast as the rocks and shoals would 
permit, to prevent his wing being turned by the enemy. 

The reserve, of thirty-five galleys, was commanded by 
the Marquis of Santa Cruz, a man of known courage and 
conduct, who had orders to act in any quarter where he 
thought his aid most needed. 

The smaller craft took litde part in the batde, the action 
being fought almost entirely by the galleys. 



70 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Each commander was to take space enough for man- 
cEuvring, yet to keep so close as to prevent the enemy 
from piercing- the line. Each was to single out his ad- 
versary, close with him, and board as soon as possible. 

Don John had the beak of his galley cut away ; so little 
did he rely upon an instrument once, and for so long, 
considered formidable. 

By this time galleys mounted guns upon their prows, 
and beaks were beginning to fall out of use. It is said 
that many commanders of the allies followed Don John's 
example. 

The Ottoman fleet weighed and came out to the battle. 
But they came on slowly, as the wind had suddenly shifted 
and was now against them, while, as the day advanced, 
the sun, which had been in the faces of the Allies, shone 
in those of the Moslem ; and both these natural pheno- 
mena were hailed by the Christians as an evidence of 
divine interposition. 

The Turkish armament proved to be even greater in 
number than had been anticipated by the Christians, con- 
sisting of nearly two hundred and fifty " royal galleys," 
most of them of the largest class ; and a number of smaller 
vessels in the rear, which, however, like the similar ones 
of the Allies, do not appear to have come much into action. 

The number of the Turks, including rowers, is said to 
have been i 20,000. As we have said, the rowers were 
principally Christian slaves, with some blacks and crimi- 
nals. 

As was usual with the Turks, their order of battle was 
crescentic, and, being more numerous than the Allies, they 
occupied a wider space than the straight alignment of the 
Christians. 

As their formidable and magnificent array advanced, 
the moving sun shone upon gaudy paint and gilded prows, 



LEPANTO. 71 

thousands of pennons, polished cimeters and head pieces, 
and the jeweled turbans of the Pachas, and other chief 
men. 

In the centre of their long line, and opposite to Don 
John, was a hug-e galley, bearing the Turkish commander, 
Ali Pasha. 

His tieet was commanded on the right by the Viceroy 
of Egypt, a wary but courageous leader. His left was 
led by Uluch Ali, a Calabrian renegade and Dey of 
Algiers, noted as a successful corsair, who had made more 
Christian slaves than all the rest beside. 

Ali was, like Don John, young and ambitious, and had 
refused to listen to any counsels looking toward declining 
battle on that day. Selim had sent him to fight, and he 
was determined to do so ; although the prudent Viceroy 
of Egypt expressed some doubts of success. 

Ali found the Christian fleet more numerous than he 
had supposed, and at first he did not perceive their left 
wing, which was hidden by the vE^tolian shore. 

When he saw the Christian line in its full extent, it is 
said that he faltered for a moment, but only for a moment, 
for he at once urged on the rowers to close with the 
enemy, and spoke of the prospects of the engagement, to 
those about him, in confident terms. 

It is said that Ali was of humane disposition, and that 
he promised the Christian slaves that, if by their exer- 
tions he won the day, they should all have their freedom. 

As he drew near the Allies, Ali changed his order of 
battle, separating his wings from the centre, to correspond 
to the Christian formation. He also fired a challenge 
gun, before he came within shot. This was answered 
by Don John, and a second one was promptly replied to 
from the Christian flag-ship. 

The fleets now rapidly neared each other. Men held 



i 



72 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

their breath, and nerved themselves for the death grapple, 
and a perfect silence reigned, broken only by the plash of 
the huge oars, while the light breeze rippled the smiling 
blue waters. 

Just about noon this beautiful scene, a perfect pageant, 
was broken in upon by the fierce yells of the Turks, the 
war cry with which they were accustomed to join battle. 

At this moment, as if by contrast, every fighting man 
^f the Christians fell upon his knee, as did Don John 
himself, and prayed the Almighty to be with his own that 
day. Absolution was then given by the priests, which 
were in each ship, and the men stood up, braced for the 
contest. 

When the foremost Turkish vessels had come within 
^annon shot, they opened fire ; and this ran along their 
line as they advanced, without cessation. The Christian 
kettle-drums and trumpets sounded in reply, with a 
general discharge of all the guns which would bear. 

Don John had caused the galleasses, the large, high, 
unwieldy war ships, to be towed about half a mile ahead 
of his fleet, where they could intercept the advance of the 
Turks. 

As the latter came abreast of them, the galleasses 
delivered their broadsides, with terrible effect. Ali caused 
his galleys to diverge, and pass these vessels, which were 
so high and formidable that the Turks did not attempt to 
board them. 

Their heavy guns caused some damage and confusion 
in the Pacha's line of battle, but this appears to have been 
the only part they took in the engagement, as they were 
too unwieldly to be brought up again. 

The real action began on the Allies' left wing, which 
the Viceroy of Egypt was very desirous of turning. But 
the Venetian admiral, to prevent that very thing, had 



LEPANTO. 73 

closed well in with the coast, I'he Viceroy, however, 
better acquainted with the soundings, saw that there was 
room for him to pass, and dashed by, thereby doubling up 
his enemy. Thus placed bv;;tween two fires, the Christian 
left fought at very great disadvantage. Many galleys 
were soon sunk, and several more were captured by the 
Turks. 

Barberlgo, dashing into the heat of the fight, was 
wounded in the eye, by an arrow, and was borne below. 
But his Venetians continued the fight with unabated cour- 
age and fury, fighting for revenge, as well as for glory. 

On the extreme Christian right a similar movement 
was attempted by Uluch Ali. With superior numbers he 
attempted to turn that wing ; but here he met that ex- 
perienced and valiant seaman, Andrew Doria, who fore- 
saw the movement of Uluch, and promptly defeated it. 
The two best seamen of the Mediterranean were here 
brought face to face. Doria, to prevent being sur- 
rounded, extended his line so far to the right that Don 
John was obliged to caution him not to expose the centre. 
Indeed, he seriously weakened his own line, and the ex- 
perienced Uluch instandy detecting it, dashed down, sank 
several galleys, and captured the great " Capitana," of 
Malta. While the batde thus opened badly for the Allies, 
on both wings, Don John led his division forward ; at 
'first with indifferent success. His own chief object was 
to encounter Ali Pasha, and the Turkish commander was 
also intent upon meeting him. 

Their respective galleys were easily disdnguished, from 
their size and rich decoration, besides displaying, the one 
the great Ottoman standard, the other the holy banner 
of the Leaofue. 

The Ottoman standard was held to be very sacred. 
It was emblazoned in gold, with texts from the Koran, 



74 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and had the name of Allah repeated 28,900 times. The 
Sultans had passed it from father to son, ever since the 
formation of the dynasty, and it was never seen unless 
the Grand Si^'nior or his lieutenant was in the field. 

Both commanders urged forward their galleys, which 
soon shot ahead of the lines, and the two closed with a 
fearful shock, so powerful that the Pacha's, which was the 
largest, was thrown upon that of his antagonist so far 
that the prow reached the fourth bench of Don John's 
rowers. 

As soon as those on board the two vessels recovered 
from the shock, the carnaa^e commenced. 

Don John had three hundred Spanish arquebusiers, the 
flower of the infantry. Ali had three hundred picked 
janizaries, and was followed by a small vessel with two 
hundred more. He had also one hundred archers on 
board ; the bow being still much in use among the Turks. 

The Pasha opened a terrible fire, which was returned 
with even greater spirit by the Spaniards. The latter had 
bulwarks, which the Mussulmen had not; and so the 
crowded janizaries presented an easy mark. Still, they 
filled up the gaps from the reserve in the small vessel, 
and the Spaniards wasted away under their fire. For a 
long time it was doubtful to which side victory would 
incline. 

This conflict was now complicated by the entrance of 
others. The bravest on each side came to the aid of the 
two commanders, and each leader at times found himself 
assailed by several enemies. They never lost sight of 
each other, however, and after beating off lesser assailants, 
returned to the single combat. 

The ficrht was now o-eneral, and the movements of both 
fleets obscured by clouds of smoke. Separate detach- 
ments desperately engaged each other, without regard 



LEPANTO. 75 

lo what was going on in other quarters; and there were 
few of the combinations and manoeuvres of a ereat naval 
batde. 

The galleys grappled each other, and soldiers, sailors 
and galley slaves fought, hand to hand, boarding and 
repelling boarders, in turn. 

There was enormous loss of life; the decks being 
encumbered with the dead, and in some ships every man 
on board was either killed or wounded. The blood 
flowed in torrents out of the scuppers, and the waters of 
the gulf were stained for miles. Wrecks of vessels 
encumbered the sea, with hulls shattered, masts gone, 
and thousands of wounded and drownini^f clino-inof to 
spars, and crying vainly for help. 

As we have already seen, Barberigo, with the Christian 
left wing, was early in sore distress; Barberigo himself 
being mortally wounded, his line turned, and several of 
his galleys being sunk or captured. But the Venetians, 
in sheer despair, increased their efforts, and succeeded 
in driving off their enemies. In turn they became the 
assailants, and boarded Turk after Turk, putting the crews 
to the sword. They were led to the assault by a Capu- 
chin friar, crucifix in hand — as were many other crews. 

In some cases the Christian galley slaves of the Turkish 
vessels broke their chains and joined their countrymen 
against their Moslem masters. 

The galley of the Viceroy of Egypt was sunk, and he 
himself was killed by John Contarini, the Venetians 
having no mercy for even a drowning Turkish enemy. 
The death of their commander spread dismay among his 
followers, and that division fled before the Venetians. 
Those nearest the land ran on shore, escaping, and 
leaving their vessels to be captured, and many perished 
before they could gain the land. Barberigo lived to 



76 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

hear the news, and giving thanks, expired in the moment 
of victory. 

All this time the combat between the two commanders- 
in-chief had been goinof on, with an incessant blaze of 
great guns and musketry, making a cloud of smoke, 
riven by flame. Both parties fought with stubborn cour- 
age. Twice the Spaniards had boarded, and twice had 
been repulsed with severe loss. The enemy was con- 
tinually reinforced, in spite of the loss inflicted by the 
steady fire of the Spanish arquebusiers. Occasionally 
interrupted, they always returned to each other; and both 
commanders exposed themselves as fully as any soldier, 
there being no honorable place of safety. Don John was 
slightly wounded in the foot, but would not have it 
dressed, A third time his trumpets summoned the board- 
ers, and the Spaniards again boldly boarded the great Turk- 
ish galley. They were met by Ali, at the head of his jani- 
zaries ; but the Ottoman leader was just then knocked 
senseless by a musket ball, and his chosen troops, though 
fighting well, missed his voice and presence. After a 
short but furious struggle they threw down their arms. 
Under a heap of slain the body of Ali was found. Life was 
not extinct, but he would at once have been dispatched 
had he not told the soldiers who discovered him where 
his money and jewels were to be found. In their haste 
to secure these, they left him lying upon the deck. Just 
then a galley slave, who had been liberated and armed, 
severed the head of Ali from his body, and carried it to 
Don John, on board his galley, Don John was shocked 
at the sight, and, after a glance of horror and pity, ordered 
it to be thrown into the sea. This was not done, how- 
ever, but, in revenge for Bragadino, it was placed upon a 
pike, while the crescent banner was hauled down, and the 
cross run up in its place. The sight of the sacred banner 



LEPANTO. 77 

flying on board the captured flag-ship was welcomed by 
the Christian fleet with shouts of victory, which rose 
above the din of batde. The intelHgence of the death 
of AH was soon passed along the line, cheering the Allies, 
and disheartening the Turks, whose exertions diminished 
and whose fire slackened. 

They were too far off to seek the shore, as their com- 
rades on the right had done, and they had either to fight 
or surrender. Most of them preferred the latter, and 
their vessels were now carried by boarding, or sunk by 
the Allies; and in four hours the centre of the Moslem 
fleet, like their right wing, had been annihilated. 

On the right of the Allies, however, Uluch Ali, the 
redoubted Algerlne, had cut Doria's weakened line, and 
inflicted great damage and loss, and would have done 
more but for the arrival of the reserve, under the Mar 
quis Santa Cruz. He had already assisted Don John, 
when assailed by overwhelming numbers, and had enabled 
him again to attack Ali. 

Santa Cruz, seeing the critical condition of Doria, 
pushed forward to his relief, supported by the Sicilian 
squadron. Dashing into the midst of the melee, the two 
commanders fell like a thunder-bolt upon the Algerine 
galleys, few of which attempted to withstand the shock ; 
and in their haste to avoid it, they were caught again by 
Doria and his Genoese. 

Beset on all sides, Uluch AH was compelled to abandon 
his prizes and seek safety in flight. He cut adrift his 
great prize, the Maltese "Capitana," which he had 
attached by a hawser to the stern of his own vessel, and 
on board of which three hundred corpses attested the 
desperate character of her defence. 

As tidings reached him of the defeat of the centre, and 
of the death of Ali Pasha, he felt that retreat alone vvaj 



78 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

left for him,with as many of his own ships as he could save 
from capture. His contingent comprised the best vessels 
in the Turkish fleet, with crews in perfect discipline and 
hardened to the sea, having always been corsairs, and 
accustomeci to scour the Mediterranean at all seasons, 

Makinof sip-nal for retreat, the Alo^erine made off, under 
all the sail the battle had left him, and urged forward 
also by the exertions of his Christian galley slaves, 
smarting under the blows of his enracred couiitcs. 

Doria and Santa Cruz followed swiftly in his wake, but 
le managed to distance them, and to carry off with him 
many of his ships. Don John himself joined in the 
chase, having disposed of his own assailants, and they 
finally managed to drive a few of the Algerine vessels 
upon the rocks of a headland; but their crews in great 
part escaped. Uluch's escape was due to the fact that 
the rowers of the Christian fleet had taken part in the 
battle, and while many were killed or wounded, the 
remainder were much exhausted, while the Algerine 
galley slaves, chained to their benches, and passive during 
much of the fight, were comparatively fresh. 

As already stated, the battle lasted more than four 
hours, and before it was over the sky showed signs of 
a coming storm. Don John reconnoitred the scene o. 
action before seeking a shelter for himself and his num- 
erous prizes. Several vessels were found to be too much 
damao-ed for further service, and as these were mosdy 
prizes, he ordered everything of value to be removed 
from them and the hulls burned. 

He then led his victorious fleet to the neighboring 
haven of Petala, which was accessible and secure. Be- 
fore he reached there the storm had begun, while the late 
scene of batde was lighted up by the blazing wrecks, 
throwing up streams of fire and showers of sparks, 



LEPANTO. 79 

The young commander-in-chief was now congratulated 
upon his signal victory, by his companions in arms. 

Officers and men recounted the various events of the 
day, and natural exultation was mingled with gloom as 
they gained certain tidings of tlie loss of friends who 
had bought this great success with their blood. 

The loss of life had indeed been very great ; greater 
by far than in any modern sea fight. It is supposed that 
the Turks suffered most heavily, but their loss was never 
known. It has been estimated at 25,000 killed and 
drowned, and 5000 prisoners. It was, indeed, a crushing 
blow to them. 

To the victors great pleasure was given by the fact 
that at least 1 2,000 Christian slaves, who had been (some 
of them for many years) chained to the oars of the Turk- 
ish galleys, were made free. Many of them were hope- 
lessly broken in health ; but tears streamed down their 
haggard cheeks at the prospect of dying in their own 
land and among their own people. 

The losses of the Allies, though very great, were as 
nothing compared to that of the Moslem. About one 
thousand Romans and two thousand Spaniards were 
killed, while the Venetians and Sicilians lost about five 
thousand. This disparity of loss has been attributed to 
the superiority of the Christians in the use of firearms. 
The Turks still clung to the bow, and a large proportion 
of their fighting men were thus armed. The Turks, 
moreover, were the vanquished party, and, as is generally 
the case, suffered terribly in the pursuit. Their great 
armada was almost annihilated, not more than forty of 
their galleys escaping. One hundred and thirty were 
actually taken, and divided among the conquerors ; the 
remainder were either sunk o^ burned. The Allies had 
about fifteen galleys sunk, and had many much damaged; 



80 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

but their vessels were much better constructed and 
stronger than those of the Turks, whom they also excelled 
in nautical evolutions. 

An immense booty of gold, jewels and brocades was 
found on board the prizes ; it being said that All Pasha's 
ship alone contained 170,000 gold sequins, or nearly 
^400,000, a very large sum for those days. 

The number of persons of rank and consideration who 
embarked In the expedition was very great, both among 
the Christians and the Moslem, and many of these were 
slain. The second in command of the Venetian force, 
the commander-in-chief of the Turkish fleet, and the com- 
mander of his right wing, all fell in the battle. Many a 
high-born Christian cavalier closed at Lepanto a long 
career of honorable service. On the other hand many 
dated the commencement of their success in arms from 
that day. Among these was Alexander Farnese, Prince of 
Parma, who became a great general, and whom we shall 
hear of again, in connection widi the Spanish Armada. 
Although only a few years younger than his kinsman, 
Don John, he was making his first campaign as a private 
adventurer. During the battle the galley in which he 
was embarked was lying, yard arm and yard arm, along- 
side a Turkish galley, with which she was hotly engaged. 
In the midst of the fight Farnese sprang on board the 
enemy, hewing down with his Andrea Ferrara all who 
opposed him, thus opening a path for his comrades, who 
poured in, one after another, and after a bloody contest, 
captured the vessel. As Farnese's galley lay just astern 
of that of Don John, the latter witnessed, with great 
pride and delight, the gallant deed of his nephew. An- 
other youth was at Lepanto, who, though then unknown, 
was destined to win greater laurels than those of the 
batde field. This was Miguel de Cervantes, then twenty 



LEPANTO. 81 

four years of age, and serving as a common soldier. He 
had been ill of a fever, but on the morning of the battle 
insisted on taking a very exposed post. Here he was 
wounded twice in the chest, and once in the left hand, 
from which he lost its use. The right hand served to 
write one of the most remarkable books ever known, 
Don Quixote; and Cervantes always said that, for all 
his wounds, he would not have missed the glory of being 
present on that memorable day. 

A fierce storm raged for twenty- four hours after the 
battle of Lepanto, but the fleet rode in safety at Petala ; 
and it remained there four days, during which Don John 
visited the different vessels, providing for their repairs 
and for the wounded, and distributing honors among 
those who had earned them. His kindly and generous 
disposition was not only shown to his own people, but 
to the Turkish prisoners. Among these were two young 
sons of AH, the Moslem commander-in-chief They had 
not been on board his galley, and to their affliction at his 
death was now added the doom of imprisonment. 

Don John sent for them, and they prostrated themselves 
before him on the deck ; but he raised and embraced 
them, and said all he could to console them, ordering 
them to be treated with the consideration due to their 
rank. He also assigned them quarters, and gave them 
rich apparel and a sumptuous table. A letter came from 
their sister, Fatima, soliciting the freedom of her brothers 
and appealing to Don John's well known humanity. He 
had already sent a courier to Constantinople, to convey 
the assurance of their safety. As was the custom then, 
Fatima had sent with her letter presents of enormous 
value. 

In the division of the spoils and slaves, the young 
Turkish princes had been assigned to the Pope, but Don 
6 



82 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

John succeeded in procuring their liberation. Unfortu- 
nately, the elder, who was about seventeen, died at 
Naples ; but the younger, who was only thirteen, was 
sent home with his attendants, and with him were sent 
the presents received from Fatima, on the ground that 
the young commander-in-chief only granted free favors. 

Don John also made friends with the testy old Vene- 
tian admu-al, Veniero, with whom he had had a serious 
difficulty before the battle. 

Venjero afterwards became Doge — the third of his 
family to reach that eminence — which office he held until 
his death. 

Before leaving Petala a council was held, to decide 
upon the next operation of the fleet. Some were for an 
immediate attack upon Constantinople ; while others con- 
sidered the fleet in no condition for such an enterprise, 
and recommended that it be disbanded, go into winter 
quarters, and renew operations in the spring. 

Some agreed with Don John, that, before disbanding, 
they should do something more. An attack upon Santa 
Maura was determined on ; but on reconnoiterinof, it was 
found to be too strong to be captured otherwise than by 
sieo-e. 

A division of spoils among the Allies then took place. 
One-half of the captured vessels, and of the artillery and 
small arms, was set apart for the King of Spain. The 
other half was divided between the Pope and the Republic 
of Venice ; while the money and rich goods were dis- 
tributed amoncf the officers and crews. 

The fleet then dispersed ; and Don John proceeded to 
Messina, where great joy was felt, and immense fetes 
awaited him ; for he had been gone from them only six 
weeks, and had, in the meantime, won the greatest battle 
of modern times. The whole population flocked to the 



LEPANTO. 83 

water side to welcome the victorious fleet, which came 
back not without scars, but bearing the consecrated 
banner still proudly aloft. In their rear were the battered 
prizes, with their flags trailing ignominiously in the water. 
There were music, garlands of flowers, triumphal arches, 
salvos of artillery, a gorgeous canopy, and a Te Deum 
in the Cathedral. A grand banquet followed, when Don 
John was presented with 30,000 crowns by the city, 
which also voted him a colossal statue in bronze. Don 
John accepted the money, but only for the sick and 
wounded; and his own share of booty from All's galley 
he ordered to be distributed among his own crew. 

The news of Lepanto caused a great sensation 
throughout Christendom, as the Turks had been con- 
sidered invincible at sea. Upon the receipt of the intelli- 
gence the Sultan Selim covered his head with dust, and 
refused food for three days — while all Christendom was 
repeating, after the sovereign Pontifl", "There was a man 
sent from God, whose name was John." 

In Venice, which might be said to have gained a new 
lease of life from the results of the battle, there were 
ceremonial rejoicings, and, by public decree, the 7th of 
October was set apart forever as a national anniversary. 

In Naples the joy was great, as their coasts had been 
so often desolated by Ottoman cruisers, and their people 
carried off as slaves. So, when Santa Cruz returned he 
was welcomed as a deliverer from bondaee. 

But even greater honors were paid to Colonna, in 
Rome. He was borne in stately procession, and trophies 
were carried after him, with the captives following, quite 
in the style of the old Roman triumphs. 

Of course, the rejoicing in Spain did not fall short of 
that in the other countries concerned. 

The great Ottoman standard, the greatest trophy of 



84 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the battle, was deposited in the Escorial, where it was 
afterwards destroyed by fire. 

When the victory w^as announced to Philip he was at 
prayer, which he did not interrupt, and he pretended to 
receive the intelligence very coolly. But he ordered 
illuminations and masses; and commanded Titian, who 
was then in Madrid, and ninety years of age, to paint the 
"Victory of the League," still in the Museum of Madrid. 

The Pope made every effort, by special ambassadors, 
to have the King press the war, and to extend the alli- 
ance against the Turks. 

But Philip was lukewarm, even cold, and said that, 
for his part, he feared the Turks less than he did the 
Christian dissenters of Belgium, England, and the Low 
Countries. 

It has been said that Charles V would have followed 
his victory to the gates of Constantinople, .jut the Duke 
of Alva thought that, Don John's force being a mixed one, 
he would not have succeeded unless supported by the 
united force of Christendom, so crreat was the Moslem 
power at that time. 

The battle lost the Turks no territory, but broke the 
charm of invincibility which they had possessed. Venice 
gained confidence, and the Ottomans never again took the 
initiative against that State — while those who have most 
carefully studied the history of the Ottoman Empire da'e 
its decline from the battle of Lepanto. 



X 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 



8^ 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. A. D. 1588 




RMADA signifies, in Spanish, a Sea Army, 
and Philip the Second named die great 
fleet which he sent forth in 1588 "invin- 
cible," because he thought that it must 
prevail against the forces of the heretic 
Hollanders and English, who excited his 
disgust and anger much more than the 
Moslem enemies with whom we have 
seen him last engfaeed. 
Philip II, son of Charles V, was born at Valladolid, in 
1527, and, by the abdication of his father, became King of 
Spain in 1556. His first wife was Maria, of Portugal, 
and his second was Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII. 
Philip was the most powerful prince of his time. Spain, 
Naples, Sicily, the Milanais, Franche Comte, the Low 
Countries, Tunis, Oran, the Cape Verdes, Canaries, and a 
great part of the Americas owned his sway. 

Always a fanatic, as he advanced In years the exter- 
mination of heretics became his one passion. He sent 
the pitiless Duke of Alva to the Low Countries, whei-e, 
however, all his cruelties and persecutions could not pre- 
vent the spread of the Reformed religion. Fortunately 
for England, as we shall see, the Low Countries secured 
their independence in 1581. 

In Spain, Philip was employing the Inquisition against 
Moors and heretics ; and executions were depopulating 



86 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the Peninsula and ruining the country. It was only by 
serious insurrections that the Milanese resisted the es- 
tablishment of the Inquisition there ; but to make up for 
that, and for his loss of the Low Countries, Philip had 
made the conquest of Portugal, and had extended to that 
country the practices of Spain. 

Elizabeth of England had not only established heretical 
practices in her realm, but had executed Mary Stuart, 
and also added to her offences, in his eyes, by sending 
sympathy and assistance to the persecuted Flemings. 

Brooding over these things, in his secret, silent way, 
Philip determined to invade England, reestablish Catholi- 
cism, and avenge the Queen of Scots. 

To this end he devoted some years to the assembling 
of the most tremendous fleet which the world, up to that 
time, had seen. 

The Spanish nobility were encouraged to join in this 
new crusade, and responded to the invitation in crowds. 
The ships, collectively, were to carry more than three 
thousand guns. A Vicar-General of the Inquisiuon was 
to accompany the fleet, and establish the Inquisition in 
England ; and it has been affirmed that complete sets of 
instruments of torture were also taken. 

The Duke of Parma, with a large army, was to join the 
Armada from Belgium, and insure the conquest. This, 
we shall see, was prevented by the noble and faithful con- 
duct of Holland, which, in spite of legitimate cause of com- 
plaint against England, in the recent design of the Earl of 
Leicester, came nobly to the rescue, and blockaded Parma, 
so that he and his troops were rendered unavailable. 
But for this, and some mistakes of the naval commanders, 
in all probability English history would have been very 
different. Many reports of the expedidon had reached 
England, but just about the dme it was ready Elizabeth's 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. S7 

fears had been lulled by the prospect of successful neo-o- 
tiations, and many of her advisers thought the threatened 
expedition would never approach English shores. 

Elizabeth, fortunately for England, had revived the 
navy, as well as the merchant service, which had been so 
gready neglected between the death of her father and 
her own accession. 

The wealthier nobles and citizens, encouraged by the 
queen, built many men-of-war, and the Royal navy was 
soon able to take the sea with 20,000 fighting men. 

The prudence and foresight of the queen in these 
measures was rewarded by the success of her seamen in 
disposing of a force such as had hardly ever been arrayed 
against any country, by sea. Philip, "who from his closet 
in Madrid aspired to govern the world," and who 
hated Protestandsm with so great a hatred that he de- 
clared " if his own son was a heredc he would carry wood 
to burn him," had good and devoted soldiers to carry 
out his views. The Duke of Alva was inconceivably cold- 
blooded and cruel, yet he was a man of great ability. No 
more perfect chevalier and enlightened soldier existed 
than the young Don John, whose career was so short; 
and the famous Duke of Parma, the greatest general of 
the day, was to command the army of invasion ; while 
the Duke of Medina Sidonia, one of the highest grandees 
of Spain, was a most gallant soldier. He was no sea- 
man, and was surrounded by a staff of soldiers, or else 
there might have been a different story to tell of Philip's 
Armada. But that does not detract from the Duke's 
personal devotion and gallantry; and the expedidon was 
accompanied by hundreds of officers of like personal 
character. 

In regard to the Armada and its desdnation, Philip at 
first preserved the secrecy which was so consonant with 



88 NAVAL BATIXES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

his nature ; but at last, when publicity could no longer 
be avoided, he had every dock-yard and arsenal in his 
dominions resounding with the hum and noise of a busy 
multitude, working day and night, to provide the means 
necessary to accomplish his purpose. New ships were 
built, and old ones repaired ; while immense quantities of 
military stores were forwarded to the Netherlands, a 
convenient base of supplies for the invaders. 

The New World was then pouring its treasures Into 
Philip's coffers, the product of the enslavement of whole 
nations, and this immense wealth Philip poured out in 
turn, lavishly, to accomplish his darling ambition, which 
was the subjection of all that remained free In the Old 
World. 

*' Rendezvous for the shipment of seamen were opened 
in every seaport town ; while throughout Philip's vast 
dominions there was not a hamlet so insignificant, or a 
cottage so lowly, but that the recruiting sergeant made 
his way to it, in his eagerness to raise troops for the grand 
army, which, blessed by the Pope, and led by the famous 
Duke of Parma, was destined, it was confidently believed, 
to march in triumph through the streets of London, and, 
by one sweeping auto-da-fe, extirpate heresy from that 
accursed land which every Spanish Catholic was taught 
to regard as the stronghold of the devil." 

" Volunteers of every degree, and from every corner 
of Europe, hastened to enlist under the banner of Castile. 
Of these, many were religious bigots, impelled to the 
crusade against English heretics by fanatic zeal; a fev? 
men of exalted character, not unknown to fame ; but by 
far the greater number, needy adventurers, seeking for 
spoil. At length, in April, 1588, after nearly three years 
of preparation, the army of invasion, 60,000 strong, was 
concentrated at Dunkirk and Nieuport, where large, 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 89 

flat-bottomed transports were built, ready for its recep- 
tion. 

"But still the Armada, that was to convoy the transports, 
and cover the landing of the troops on their arrival in 
England, loitered in Lisbon, waiting for a favorable wind. 
Toward the end of May it moved out of the Tagus by de- 
tachments, and passing the dangerous shoals called the 
Cachopos in safety, took Its departure from Cape Roca, 
the westernmost point of Portugal, and of the continent 
of Europe, on June ist, sailing due north, with a light 
southwesterly breeze. The fleet consisted in all of one 
hundred and thirty-two vessels, carrying 3165 guns, 
21,639 soldiers, 8745 seamen, and 2088 galley slaves; 
and its aggregate burden was not less than 65,000 tons." 

The San Martin, a vessel of fifty guns, belonging to 
the contingent furnished by Portugal, carried the flag of 
the commander-in-chief, the Duke de Medina Sidonia, 
already mentioned. 

This great Armada was very unwieldy, and contained 
many dull sailers, so that, making its way at the average 
rate of only about thirteen miles a day, it passed the 
Berllngas, crept by Figuera, Oporto and Vigo, and finally 
lay becalmed off Cape Finisterre. Up to this time the 
winds, if baffling, had been moderate, the weather pleasant, 
and the sea smooth as glass. But now the Spanish fleet 
was assailed by a tempest, which might be called fearful, 
even In the stormy Bay of Biscay. 

Blowing at first fitfully, and in heavy squalls, It by 
nightfall settled into a steady gale from west-north-west, 
driving before It a tremendous sea, the surges of which 
broke with a roar distincdy heard above the fierce howling 
of the wind. Yet, though the sea ran high, it was not 
irregular, and the Armada, under snug canvas, was 
making good weather of it, when, a little after midnight, 



90 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the wind shifted very suddenly to northeast, blowing with 
the violence of a tornado, and taking every ship under 
square sail flat aback. Some of the vessels, gathering 
sternboard, lost their rudders, which were in that day 
very insecure; some, thrown on their beam-ends, were 
forced to cut away their masts and throw overboard their 
guns; while all lost sails and top-hamper, and not a few 
the upper deck cabins, at that time so lofty. 

When day broke the spectacle was presented of a 
whole fleet helplessly adrift upon the ocean. Many of 
the largest and finest vessels were lying in the trough of 
the sea, which every now and then made a clean breach 
over them, each time carrying off some of the crews. 
Among the fleet was a huge Portuguese galley, the Diana, 
which had been knocked down by the shift of wind, lost 
her masts and oars, and was lying on her side, gradually 
filling with water, and fast settling by the stern. The rest 
of the vessels were powerless to assist her, and she soon 
sank before their eyes, carrying down every soul belong- 
ing to her, including, of course, the poor galley slaves 
chained to her oars. 

Then, to add to the horrors of storm and shipwreck, a 
mutiny broke out among the rowers of the galley Vasana 
(a motley crew of Turkish and Moorish prisoners and 
Christian felons), who had been long watching for an 
opportunity to secure their freedom; and now, seeing 
their galley to windward of all the vessels of the Armada, 
with the exception of the Capltana galley, which was a 
mile away from them, they judged the occasion favorable 
for the accomplishment of their purpose. Led by a 
Welshman, named David Gw)'nne, the mutinous galley- 
slaves attacked the sailors and soldiers of the Vasana, 
and as they exceeded them In number, and the free men 
had no time to seize their arms, while the slaves were 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 91 

armed with stilettoes made of all kinds of metal, and care- 
fully concealed for such an occasion, they quite easily 
prevailed. The captain of the Capitana, seeing that 
something was wrong on board the Vasana, ran down as 
close to her as the heavy sea would permit, and, finding 
her already in possession of the Welshman and his fellow 
galley-slaves, poured a broadside into her, which cut 
her up terribly, and filled her decks with more killed and 
wounded men. At this critical moment, while engaged 
with an enemy without, the crew of the Capitana found 
themselves threatened with a greater danger from within. 
Their own slaves now rose, broke their chains, and took 
part in the engagement. It is not known whether they 
had any previous knowledge of an attempt on board the 
Vasana, or whether it was the effect of example. At any 
rate, they rushed upon their late masters and oppressors 
with such weapons as they had concealed, or could seize at 
the moment, and attacked them with desperate and irresist- 
ible fury and resolution. The struggle, in the midst of the 
gale, for the possession of the Capitana, was furious but 
brief. It ended in the triumph of the galley-slaves, who, 
like their fellows on board the Vasana, spared no rank 
nor age. The massacre was soon over, and the bodies 
thrown into the water ; and the gale soon after abating, 
the galleys were run into Bayonne, where, Modey says, 
Gwynne was graciously received by Henry of Navarre. 
The crippled Armada, having lost three of its finest 
galleys, managed to creep into the different ports on the 
northern shore of Spain. 

Once more they all made rendezvous at Corunna, and 
after a month spent in repairs, sailed again, on July 2 2d, 
for Calais Roads. 

With fair winds and fine weather, the Spanish fleet 
struck soundings in the English channel on July 28th, and 



92 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the following day, in the afternoon, were in sight of the 
Lizard, whence they were seen and recognized, and soon, 
by bonfires, and other preconcerted signals, all England 
knew that the long threatened danger was close at hand ; 
and, without faltering, one and all prepared to meet it. 

The most of the English fleet was in Plymouth at the 
time. Many of the principal officers were on shore, play- 
ing at bowls, and otherwise amusing themselves, and the 
wind was blowing directly into the harbor, prevendng the 
fleet from pulling to sea. But the commander-in-chief, 
Lord Howard of Effingham, was equal to the emergency; 
summoning all to instant exertion ; and before daylight 
the following morning sixty-seven of his best ships had 
been, with extreme labor and difficulty, towed and kedged 
into deep water, and, commanded by such men as Drake, 
Frobisher, and Hawkins, were off the Eddystone, keep- 
ing a sharp lookout for the Spaniards. Every hour 
additional vessels were joining the English fleet. 

During the whole forenoon the wind was very light, 
and the weather thick ; but towards evening a fine south- 
west wind set in, and the mist rising, the two fleets 
discovered each other. 

The Armada, in a half-moon, and in complete batde 
array, was so compactly drawn up that its flanking vessels 
were distributed but seven miles from each other ; and all 
were bearing steadilyup channel. The Spanish guns were 
so numerous, and so much heavier in calibre than anything 
the English carried, that the Lord High Admiral saw at 
once that the force at his command could not successfully 
confront the enemy. He therefore permitted them to 
pass without firing a shot ; but hung closely upon their 
rear, in hopes of cutting off any vessels which might chance 
to fall astern of the others. It was not until the next 
day, Sunday, July 31st, that an opportunity offered for 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 93 

attacking to advantage. Then, " sending a pinnace, 
called the Defiance, before him, to denounce war against 
the enemy, by the discharge of all her guns," Howard at 
once opened fire from his own ship, the Royal Oak, upon 
a large galleon, commanded by Don Alphonso de Leyva, 
which he took to be the flag-ship of the Spanish com- 
mander-in-chief. 

In the meantime, the combined squadrons of Drake, 
Frobisher and Hawkins opened furiously upon the fleet 
of Biscay, or of northern Spain, which, consisting of four- 
teen vessels, and carrying 302 guns, was commanded by 
Vice-admiral Recalde, an officer of great experience. 
This squadron had been formed into a rear guard, in 
expectation of just such an attack. 

Recalde maintained the unequal fight for some hours, 
and with great obstinacy ; all the while endeavoring to 
get within small-arm range of the English, which he knew 
would be fatal to them, as he had a large force of arque- 
busiers embarked in his division. 

But his wary antagonists, whose vessels, " light, weath- 
erly and nimble, sailed six feet to the Spaniards* two, and 
tacked twice to their once," evaded every effort to close, 
and keeping at long range, inflicted much damage upon 
their enemy without receiving any themselves. 

At length, seeing how matters stood, the Duke Medina 
Sidonia signaled to Recalde to join the main body of the 
fleet ; and, hoisting the Royal standard of Spain at his 
main, drew out his whole force in order of battle, and 
endeavored to bring on a general engagement. This 
Howard prudently avoided, and so the Spaniards had to 
keep on their course again, up channel, and '* maintain 
a running fight of it ;" the English now, as before, hang- 
ing on their rear, and receiving constant reinforcements 
from their seaport towns, in full view of which, as the 



94 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Armada hugged the EngHsh shore, Howard, with his 
gallant ships and men, was passing. 

In these days London alone sent forth fifty armed ships. 

The night which followed was one fraught with disaster 
to the Spaniards. The gunner of the Santa Anna, a 
Fleming by birth, who had been reprimanded by his 
captain for some neglect of duty, in revenge laid a train to 
the magazine, and blew up all the after part of the vessel, 
with more than half her officers and crew. 

The vessel nearest the Santa Anna hurried to her 
assistance, and was engaged in rescuing the survivors, 
when, in the darkness and confusion, two galleys fell foul 
of the flagship of the Andalusian squadron, and carried 
away her foremast close to the deck, so that she dropped 
astern of the Armada, and, the night being very dark, was 
soon lost sight of by iier friends, and assailed by her 
vig-ilant foes. 

Being well manned, and carrying fifty guns, she main- 
tained her defence until daylight, when, finding the Eng- 
lish hemming her in on all sides, Don Pedro de Valdez, 
the Admiral, struck his flag to Drake, in the Revenge, 
much to the chagrin of Frobisher and Hawkins, who had 
hoped to make prize of her themselves. 

Don Pedro, who was courteously received by Drake, 
remained on board the Revenofe until the loth of Auo-ust; 
so that he was an eye witness of all the subsequent 
events, and of the final discomfiture of his countrymen. 

Drake sent the captain of the Santa Anna, "a prisoner, 
to Dartmouth, and left the money on board the prize, to 
be plundered by his men." 

All the following day was spent by the Duke in re- 
arranging his fleet; and after the vessels were in the 
stations assigned them, each captain had written orders 
not to leave that station, under penalty of death. 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 95 

In this new order the rearguard was increased to forty- 
three vessels, and placed under the command of Don 
Alphonso de Leyva, who had orders to avoid skirmishing 
as much as possible, but to lose no opportunity of bring- 
ing on a general engagement, or decisive battle. 

On the 2d of August, at daylight, the wind shifted to 
the northeast, whereupon the Spanish, being to windward, 
bore down upon the English under full sail. But the 
latter also squared away, and having the advantage of 
greater speed, refused, as before, to allow their enemy to 
close with them ; so the enragfement was without result, 
there being little loss on the part of the Spaniards, while 
the only Englishman killed was a Mr. Cock, who was 
bravely fighting the enemy in a small vessel of his own. 

Towards evening the wind backed to the west again, 
and the Armada once more continued its course toward 
Calais. 

On the 3d of August there was a suspension of hostili- 
ties, and the Lord High Admiral received a supply of 
powder and ball, and a reinforcement of ships, and 
intended to attack the enemy in the middle of the night, 
but was prevented by a calm 

On the 4th, however, a straggler from the Spanish fleet 
was made prize of by the English. 

This brought on a sharp engagement between the 
Spanish rear guard and the English advance, under Fro- 
bisher, which would have resulted in Frobisher's capture 
had not Howard himself oone to the rescue, in the 
"Ark-Royal, followed by the Lion, the Bear, the Bull, the 
Elizabeth, and a great number of smaller vessels." The 
fighting was for some time severe, but as soon as Fro- 
bisher was relieved, Howard, observing that the Duke 
was approaching, with the main body of the Spanish 
fleet, prudently gave the order to retire. It was, indeed, 



96 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

high time, for the Ark-Royal was so badly crippled that 
she had to be towed out of action. 

The Lord Hifjh Admiral afterwards knigfhted Lord 
Thomas Howard, Lord Sheffield, Townsend, Hawkins 
and Frobishcr, for their gallantry on this occasion ; but a 
convincing proof that the English had the worst of it in 
the encounter is the determination of a council of war 
"not to make any further attempt upon the enemy until 
they should be arrived in the Straits of Dover, where 
the Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William Winter were 
lying in wait for them," 

So the Armada kept on its way, unmolested, and with 
a fair wind, past Hastings and Dungeness, until it got to 
the north of the Varne, an extensive shoal in the 
Channel. 

Then It left the English coast, and hauled up for Calais 
Road, where it anchored on the afternoon of Saturday, 
August 6th, close in to shore, with the Castle bearing 
from the centre of the fleet due east. 

The English followed, and anchored two miles outside. 
Strengthened by the accession of Seymour's and Winter's 
squadron, they now numbered one hundred and forty 
sail — many of them large ships, but the majority small. 
Every day since he had been in the Channel the 
Spanish commander-in-chief had despatched a messenger 
to the French coast, to proceed by land, and warn the 
Duke of Parma of the approach of the Armada, and to 
impress upon him the necessity of his being ready to 
make his descent upon England the moment the fleet 
reached Calais; and especially he desired Parma to send 
him, at once, pilots for the French and Flemish coasts, 
which those in the fleet had no knowledge of. To his 
bitter disappointment, on reaching Calais he found no 
preparation of any kind, and none of his requests com- 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 97 

plied with. All that night, and all day of August 7th, the 
vast Armada lay idly at anchor, vainly watching for the 
coming of Parma's army, and not knowing that its egress 
from Nieuport and Dunkirk was a simple impossibility, 
since the fleets of Holland and Zealand were in full pos- 
session of all the narrow channels between Nieuport and 
Hils Banks and the Flemish shore; and Parma had not 
a single vessel of war to oppose to them. 

On the evening of the 7th the appearance of the 
weather caused great anxiety to the seamen of the 
Armada, the sun setting in a dense bank of clouds, and 
they realized, much more fully than the soldiers on board, 
the insecurity of their anchorage; as a northwest gale, 
likely to rise at any moment, would drive them upon the 
treacherous quicksands of the French coast. 

While this apprehension was troubling the seamen 
of the Armada, the English were fearful least Parma's 
transports, eluding the vigilance of the Dutch cruisers, 
should suddenly heave in sight, but, as the evening 
drew on, and they observed the threatening sky, and 
heard the increasing surf upon the shore, both of which 
boded a storm, they became reassured. A little before 
midnight of the 7th, the weather being very thick, and 
a strong current setting towards the Spanish fleet, the 
English prepared to send in among them eight fire-ships, 
which they had prepared as soon as they found the enemy 
anchored close together. The English captains Young 
and Prowse towed them in, directing their course, and 
firing them with great coolness and judgment. A great 
panic resulted among the Spaniards, for they knew that 
the English had in their service an Italian, who, three 
years before, had created great havoc and destruction at 
Antwerp, by ingenious floating torpedoes or mines, and 
they no sooner saw the fire-ships, "all alight with flame, 
7 



98 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

from their keelsons to their mast-heads," and bearing 
down upon them, than they imagined GiannibelH and his 
infernal machines in their midst. Sliouts of " we are 
lost!" passed through the fleet, but in the midst of the 
panic the Duke de Medina Sidonia (who had been 
warned by Philip to be on his guard lest the dreaded 
Drake should burn his vessels) maintained his composure. 
He at once made the signal agreed upon, to cut cables 
and stanci clear of the danger; and the Armada was soon 
under sail, and out of harm's way from fire. But the 
frieht and confusion had been so crreat that, next morn- 
ing, when the Duke wished to rally his fleet and return 
to his anchorage, many ships were out of signal distance, 
some far at sea, and others among the shoals of the coast 
of Flanders. 

The 8th of August dawned with squally, southwest 
weather, and the English observed some of the Spanish 
vessels to be crippled, and drifting to leeward, while the 
San Lorenzo, flag-ship of the squadron of galleasses (the 
class of laree vessels which had contributed so much to 
the victory of Lepanto), was endeavoring to get into the 
harbor of Calais. Her rudder was gone, and, although 
her rowers were endeavoring to keep her in the narrow 
channel leading to the town, she yawed widely across it, 
and finally grounded on a sand bank near the town. In 
this position she was attacked by the boats of the Eng- 
lish fleet, and after a stubborn resistance, in which many 
fell on both sides, was boarded and carried. The Gov- 
enor of Calais claimed her as of right pertaining to him, 
and the English, just then not caring to quarrel with the 
French, gave her up to him, but not before they had 
plundered her. 

The boat expedition no sooner returned, than Howard 
bore up for the Armada, the bulk of which was then off 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 9ft 

Graveiines, sailing in double Echelon, with Hanks pro- 
tected "by the three remaining- galleasses, and the great 
galleons of Portugal," The Duke Medina Sidonia at 
once hauled by the wind, with signal flying for close 
action, and the Royal standard at his fore. But the 
English had speed, handiness, and the weather gauge in 
their favor, and were enabled, as before, to choose their 
own distance, and after a desultory fight of six hours, the 
Duke (finding he was losing men, and had three of his 
best ships sunk, as many more put hors-de-combat, and 
having exhausted his shot, without a chance of bringing 
Howard within boarding distance, or of Parma's coming 
out to join him) telegraphed to the fleet "to make its way 
to Spain, north about the British Isles," and then himself 
kept away for the North Sea. 

The sands of Zealand threatened him on one hand, and 
the hardy English seamen on the other ; and with these 
odds against him, the proud Spaniard had no resource 
left but to retreat. 

That night it blew a strong breeze from the north, 
and the next day some of the Spanish vessels were in 
great danger from the Dutch shoals, but a shift of wind 
saved them. 

The English kept close after them until August 12th, 
when, being themselves short of provisions and ammuni- 
tion, they came by the wind, and stood back for their own 
shores, where, of course, the intelligence they brought 
caused great joy, after the narrow escape from invasion. 

An intelligent officer. Commodore Foxhall A. Parker, 
United States Navy, commenting upon these actions, 
says, " it has been asserted that Medina Sidonia so 
dreaded the passage around the grim Hebrides that he 
was upon the point of surrender to Howard, when he last 
approached him, but was dissuaded from doing so by the 
L.ofC. 



100 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Ecclesiastics on board his vessel ; but this story, as well 
as one told by the Spanish soldiers who were taken 
prisoners in the fight of August 8th, and who wished to 
curry favor with their captors, that this fight * far exceeded 
the batde of Lepanto,' may be safely classed with the 
marvelous relations of the ' intellicrent contraband,' and 
the • reliable gentleman just from Richmond,' so often 
brought to the front during the great civil war in America. 
Why, indeed, should the. Duke have surrendered to a force 
unable to fire 'i shot at him, and which, had it ventured 
within boarding distance of the Armada, must have 
inevitably fallen in^c his hands? Was not the Saint 
Matthew, when assailed in a sorely crippled condidon by 
a whole squadron, defended for two long hours ? And did 
not several Spanish vessels, refusing to strike when they 
were in a sinking condition, go down with their colors 
flying ? Was, then, the Commander-in-chief less coura- 
geous than his subordinates ? Let the truth be told. 
Medina Sidonia, from his want of experience at sea, was 
utterly disqualified to command the great fleet entrusted 
to his care ; but Spain possessed no braver man than he." 

The history of the Armada, after Howard left it, is 
one of shipwreck and disaster. Many of its vessels foun- 
dered at sea, and many more were lost on the rocky coasts 
of Scotland and Ireland ; and the crews of some, who 
managed to reach the land, were massacred by the savage 
inhabitants of the west of Ireland, 

Few of the leaders lived to return to their native land, 
and there was hardly a family in Spain that was not in 
mourning. 

Upon learning of the disaster Philip affected great 
calmness, and merely remarked, " I did not send my fleet 
to combat the tempest, and I thank God, who has made 
me able to repair t lis loss." 




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THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 101 

But, in spite of tliat, his disappointment was terrible, 
and in his fierce and savage resentment at the depression 
of his people he cut short all mourning by proclamation. 
A merchant of Lisbon, who imprudently allowed himself 
to express some joy at the defeat of the conqueror of his 
nation, was hanged by order of Philip — so that, as Motley 
says, " men were reminded that one could neither laugh 
nor cry in Spanish dominions," 

In other parts of Europe great joy was felt, for bot. 
England and the Continent were delivered from the night- 
mare of universal empire and the Inquisition. Well 
might England rejoice, and proceed to build up a more 
powerful navy. 

The Spanish marine was Irretrievably wrecked, and 
never again rose to Its former position ; and the loss of 
the preponderance of Spain in European affairs began at 
this time. 

The commander first selected for the Armada, Alvaro 
de Bazan, a fine seaman, died just before it left Lisbon. 
He would, no doubt, have handled it better than Medina 
Sidonia ; and he certainly would have attacked the wind- 
bound English fleet in Plymouth, in sj^ite of orders, and 
if he had done so would probably have destroyed it. 

Philip had disregarded the advice of Parma and Santa 
Cruz, experienced soldiers, to secure a point in Flanders, 
before attacking England ; and he erred in binding down 
Medina Sidonia not to take the initiative and attack the 
English fleet until he had been joined by Parma's trans- 
ports. 

We may add a few words concerning Philip II. He 
survived the loss of his Armada ten years ; having suc- 
ceeded In making his memory thoroughly odious. Philip 
was gifted with high capacity, but was sombre, Inflexible 
and bloody minded. He was at the same' time vindictive, 



i02 



NAVAL BATTLES. ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



pusillanimous and cruel ; full of joy at an auto-da-fi 
while he trembled during a battle. To sanguinary fanati- 
cism he added violence of temper almost bestial in its 
exhibition. He was close and deceptive in politics — 
always covering himself and his designs with the mask 
of religion He seemed, indeed, not to have a human 
heart in his breast; and yet he had a taste for the fine 
arts — loving painting, but even better, architecture, in 
which latter he was learned. He finished the Escorial 
and beautified Madrid, which he made the capital of Spain. 
Besides the foregoing his sole pleasure was the chase ; 
while, unlike his father, he was generous to those who 
served him, and very sober in living and simple in dress, 




A SPANISH GALLEASS OF THE i6tH CENTURV. 



ELIZABETHAN EXPEDITIONS. 



103 



SOME NAVAL EVENTS OF ELIZABETH'S TIME, 
SUCCEEDING THE ARMADA. 




HE signal discomfiture of the Armada 
caused, in England, an enthusiastic pas- 
sion for enterprises against Spain ; and 
this was fostered by the unusual good 
fortune of English adventurers, especially 
in their attacks upon the commerce and 
colonies of the Spanish, 

Don Antonio, of Portugal, having ad- 
vanced a claim to the crown of that country, then held by 
Spain, an expedition was undertaken, in England, to 
conquer that country for him. Nearly 20,000 volunteers 
enlisted, and ships were hired and arms and provisions 
provided by the adventurers. The frugal Queen only 
contributed to the enterprise some ^60,000 and six of her 
ships. Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norris were at the 
head of it, and if they had not allowed themselves to be 
drawn off from the main object of their enterprise to 
attack a Spanish fleet, fitting at the Groyne for another 
invasion of England, it is quite probable that Lisbon 
would have been taken by a coiip-de-main. In conse- 
quence of their delay Lisbon was too strongly defended, 
and the English fleet was obliged to retire. After taking 
and burning Vigo they returned to England, having lost 
more than half their number by sickness, famine, fatigue, 
and wounds. This was, indeed, usually the case with the 



104 NAVAL BA'ITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

maritime^ adventurers of that clay, the losses from illness 
alone being- perfectly frightful. 

As this expedition was returning another was going 
out, under the Earl of Cumberland, all the ships, except 
one man-of-war sent by the Queen, being- equipped at 
his own expense. Cumberland went to the Tercerasand 
took many Spanish prizes, but the richest one, a galleon, 
was lost on the Cornish coast, in the attempt to reach 
England. Attempting to seize the Islands, Cumberland 
met with a bloody repulse, losing nearly half his men, and 
a great mortality seizing upon the survivors, left him 
hardly men enough to steer his ships back into a home 
harbor. 

But all these maritime expeditions, whether successful 
or not, had a good effect in keeping the Spaniards in 
check, as well as in keeping up the spirit and nautical 
ability of the English. 

At a later period, when Elizabeth was assisting Henri 
Quatre, in France, against the Duke of Parma and the 
League, she emplo)-ed her naval power very freely 
against Philip, and endeavored at all times to intercept 
his West Indian treasure ships, the source of that 
greatness which rendered him so formidable to all his 
neig-hbors. 

Among other operations she sent Lord Thomas How- 
ard, with a squadron of seven ships, upon this service. 
But Philip, Informed of her intentions, fitted out a great 
fleet of fifty-five sail, and despatched them to escort home 
the fleet of galleons from the West Indies. 

The Queen's seven ships, commanded by Howard, were 
the Defiance, the Revenge, the Nonpareil, Bonaventure, 
Lion, Foresight, and Crane. They are said to have been 
miserably fitted out. Howard went to the Azores, and 
anchoring at Flores, there waited six months for the 



ELIZABETHAN EXPEDITIONS. 105 

approach of the treasure ships, which were inconceivably 
slow and deliberate in their passages. In the meantime 
Don Alphonso Bassano, the commander of the Spanish 
escort fleet, hearing of the small English force at Flores, 
determined to attack it. The English squadron was at the 
time unprepared, beside having much sickness on board. 
Howard put to sea hurriedly, leaving many men on shore, 
and was attacked by the whole Spanish fleet. The brunt 
of the engagement which followed was principally borne 
by the Revenge, commanded by Sir Richard Grenville. 
The fiofht beo^an about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
and continued until after daylight the next morning. 

The Revenge was laid on board at one and the same 
time by the St. Philip, of 1500 tons and 78 guns, and four 
others of the Spanish men-of-war of the largest size, and 
filled with soldiers. The enemy boarded no less than 
fifteen times during the night, and were as often repulsed, 
although they continually shifted their vessels, and boarded 
with fresh men. The gallant Grenville was Vv'ounded early 
in the action, but refused to quit the deck. About mid- 
night, however, he was wounded by a musket ball, which 
passed through his body. He was then carried below to 
have his wound dressed, but while under the surgeon's 
hands, was agfain wounded in the head, and the sursfeon 
was killed by his side while attending to his wounds. 

The gallant crew held out till daylight, by which time 
the ship was a mere wreck, and out of an original crew of 
103, forty were killed, and almost, all the rest wounded. 
The ammunition was expended in the long and constant 
firing, and most of their small arms were broken and use- 
less. In this condition nothing remained but surrender. 
But Sir Richard proposed to trust to the mercy of God, 
rather than that of the Spaniards, and to destroy them- 
selves with the ship, rather than yield. The mastei 



106 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

gunner and many of the seamen agreed to this, but others 
opposed it, and obHged Grenville to surrender as a 
prisoner. They refused to strike, however, until they 
were promised their hberty, and the Spaniards assenting, 
the ship was at last surrendered. 

This was the first English man-of-war that the Spaniards 
had ever taken, but she was not doomed to be exhibited 
as a trophy, for she foundered a few days afterward, with 
two hundred of the Spanish prize crew which had been 
placed on board of her. It is said that it cost the Span- 
iards a thousand lives to capture the Revenge. 

Sir Richard Grenville was carried on board the Spanish 
admiral's ship, where he died, two days after, impressing 
his enemies very much by his extraordinary behavior 
and courage. His last words were : " Here die I, Rich- 
ard Grenville, with a joyful and quiet mind ; for I have 
ended my life as a true soldier ought to do, fighting for 
his country, queen, religion and honor. My soul willingly 
departing from this body, leaving behind the everlasting 
fame of having behaved as every valiant soldier is in his 
duty bound to do." 

In the meantime the treasure ships had been detained 
so long at Havana, for fear of the English cruisers, that 
they were obliged to sail at an improper season, and most 
of them were lost at sea before they reached Spanish 
harbors. 

In 1592 an expedition under Sir Martin Frobisher, 
consisting of two men-of-war belona-intr to the Oueen, and 
others fitted by Frobisher and Sir Walter Raleigh, made 
a cruise on the coast of Spain, and took many Spanish 
ships. Among them was a carrack, called Madre de 
Dios, of which a description is given, and which must have 
been a most extraordinary vessel, more like a floating 
castle or tower than a ship. " She had seven decks, of 



ELIZABETHAN EXPEDITIONS. 



Ill 



took the place. Essex, upon his arrival, was much in- 
censed at being robbed of the glory he so much coveted, 
and but for Howard, would have cashiered Raleigh and 
his officers. Sir Walter having made due amends, the 
matter was arranged, and dispositions were made for 
intercepting the galleons. Sir William Monson was 
^^tationed off the islands, in observation, and in due time 
'made the appointed signal that the Spaniards were in 
sight. These, however (owing, as Monson says, in his 
memoirs, to Essex's want of seamanship), almost all man- 
aged to get into the secure and strong port of Angra. 
Only three were taken, but these were of such value as 
to defray the whole cost of the expedition. 




"henry gracf. dk dieu." — " The Great Hurry.' 
(Built by Henry VII of Engbnd.) 



112 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE WAR BETWEEN 
ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. A. D. 1652-3. 




N 1652 the Dutch naval power was without 
a rival in the world. The sea seemed to be 
their proper element, and their fleets of 
war and commerce penetrated Xo every 
part of the globe. Their colonial posses- 
sions were only inferior to those of Spain, 
and their wealth, energy and valor gave 
every promise of their extension. 
England had better home harbors, and a finer geo- 
graphical position ; a more numerous population, and 
almost equal maritime resources ; and it was a natural 
and cherished idea of the English Republicans to form 
the Commonwealth and the United Provinces of Holland 
into one powerful Protestant State, which should be able 
to resist all the other powers. The advantages of such a 
union were easily to be seen, but the splendid conception 
was opposed by commercial jealousies and by dynastic 
interests. 

William, the second Prince of Orange of that name, 
had married a daughter of Charles the First, so that in 
addition to a princely antipathy to Commonwealths, an 
alliance of this kind would have interfered with a pos- 
sible succession of his wife and children to the English 
throne. 

William was exceedingly popular with the masses, and 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 113 

SO long as he lived the two States remained on bad terms. 
He even refused to extend to the agents of Parliament 
the protection of the Dutch law, and they were con- 
stantly insulted, and one lost his life at the hands of a 
mob, it was said, by the machinations of Montrose. No 
redress could be obtained. 

Holland's recent successes, especially at sea, against 
Spain and the Barbary States, had made her very confi 
lent in her maritime power. England was then much 
exhausted, from internal dissension, and Holland was 
anxious to be considered mistress of the Narrow Seas, a 
right which England had long claimed, and which the 
Dutch had always firmly disputed. 

The Prince of Orange died rather suddenly, leaving 
his heir yet unborn, and the Democratic party, which 
comprised the most liberal and enlightened of the Dutch 
people, seized the opportunity to abolish the office of 
Stadtholder, and restore a pure Republic. After their 
success in this it was thought and hoped that at least a 
close alliance, offensive and defensive, might be formed 
between the two Republican States. An ambassador was 
sent from England to Holland for that purpose, but the 
negotiation lagged. The "High Mightinesses " who now 
ruled Holland offered a counter-proposition. Delays 
followed, and St. John-, the English envoy, whose time was 
limited to a certain fixed date, had his pride hurt by the 
delay. The Dutch, on their side, thought it arrogant and 
menacing in the English Parliament to have set a time 
for their action and its agent's return. The exiled court 
was then at the Hague, and the exiled cavaliers frequently 
made St. John feel their presence. Then, again, Holland 
may have wished to see the result of the invasion of Scot- 
land, and, after long delays, St. John left Holland, more 
inclined for war than peace„ 

a 



114 NAVAL BATl'LES. ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The Dutch statesmen saw their mistake after the battle 
of Worcester had firmly estabhshed the English _com 
monwealth, and now endeavored to renew negotiations. 
But new troubles prevented an understanding. Dutch 
privateers had continued to injure English commerce ; 
while still more insuperable difficulties arose from the 
passage by the English Parliament of the Navigation 
Act. At that time, in addition to being great traders, the 
Dutch were great fishermen. Rotterdam and Amster- 
dam were the exchanges of Europe, and immense fortunes 
were made by the ship owners of these ports. Under the 
Stuarts England had neglected the merchant marine, and 
afforded a fine field to the Dutch traders, but the Naviga- 
tion Act, in declaring that no goods the produce of Asia, 
Africa or America, should be imported into England, 
except in vessels either belonging to that commonwealth 
or to the countries from which the goods were imported, 
put a period, so far as the British Islands, their colonies 
and dependencies were concerned, to a very lucrative 
branch of Dutch enterprise. 

The new Dutch ambassador endeavored to have this 
law of exclusion repealed at once ; and while urging 
the point, hinted that his country then was fitting out a 
powerful fleet for the protection of their trade. This 
hint was taken as a menace, and Parliament ordered its 
sea captains to exact all the honors due the red cross flag 
which had been claimed by England in the Narrow Seas 
since Saxon times. This order soon made much trouble. 
An English Commodore, Young, falling in with a Dutch 
fleet returning from the Mediterranean, sent to request 
the Admiral in command of the convoy to lower his flag. 
The Dutch officer refused to comply with this demand, so 
unexpectedly made, without consultation with his supe- 
riors. Young then fired into his ship, and a sharp action 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 115 

ensued ; but the English being stronger, and the Dutch 
taken by surprise, the latter were obliged to strike. 

To avenge this insult to their flag, the States General 
fitted out a fleet of forty-two sail, and placed it under the 
command of Van Tromp, with instructions to use his 
discretion in resisting the English claim to supremacy. 
He was, however, positively required to repel, on all occa- 
sions, and at all hazards, attacks upon the commerce of the 
Republic of Holland, and to properly support the dignity 
of its flag. Tromp, who had genius as well as courage 
and skill, was well suited to carry out these orders. This 
celebrated naval commander was born at Briel, in 1 597, and 
died in 1653. He served on a frigate commanded by his 
father when only eleven years old, his father being killed 
in an action with the French, and the son made prisoner. 
He rose rapidly in the Dutch navy, and was a \'ice 
Admiral at the age of forty, when he totally defeated a 
Spanish fleet, superior In numbers and weight of metal. 
This success not only made him very popular at home, but 
caused him to be made a French noble. We shall see in 
the following pages how Tromp died. He was burled at 
Delft, where a splendid monument was raised to him. 

When Tromp was put In command of this fleet war 
had not been declared, and the Dutch ambassador was 
still In England when Tromp and his fleet suddenly 
appeared in the Downs. Bourne, who was stationed off 
Dover with part of the English fleet, at once sent a mes- 
senger to Blake, who was off Rye with another division 
of ships. Upon receipt of the intelligence Blake at once 
made all sail for the Downs. This wonderful man, one 
of the greatest names In English naval history, was fifty 
years old before he became a sailor; and yet, upon being 
appointed a " General at Sea," he performed some of the 
greatest exploits, and won some of the greatest victories 



116 NAVAL BA^ITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

recorded in naval annals. Blake found Tromp in and 
about Dover Roads. When die English were still about 
ten miles off Tromp weighed and stood out to sea, with- 
out lowering his flag. This, under the regulations then 
e dsting, was an act of defiance. Blake fired a gun, to 
call attention to the omission, but no answer was 
returned. To a second and a third gun, Tromp replied 
by a single shot, keeping his flag flying. Stretching over 
to the other side of the Straits, he then received some 
communication from a ketch which met him, and, as if she 
had brought imperative orders, he soon came round and 
made toward Blake ; his own ship, the Brederode, taking 
the van. 

Blake felt that, in spite of a want of any declaration of 
war, Tromp had received orders to offer battle, and at 
once proceeded to prepare; lor it. 

Tromp was superior in force, his numbers being 
greater. This was partly made up for by the fact that 
the English carried more guns in proportion, and larger 
crews, but many of their men were landsmen. 

When the fleets had approached within musket shot, 
Blake, affecting not to notice the menacing attitude of the 
Dutch, stood toward the Brederode, to remonstrate con- 
cerning the lack of honors, in not lowering the flag. 

The Dutch ship sent a broadside into the James, 
Blake's flag-ship, and stopped all remonstrance short. 
Blake was at this moment in his cabin, with some ofifl- 
cers, and the fire smasheci the windows and damaged the 
stern. Blake coolly observed, " Well ! it is not civil in 
Van Tromp to take my flag-ship for a brothel, and break 
my windows." As he spoke, another broadside came from 
the Brederode. At this he called to those on deck to 
return the fire, and the action at once bep"an. 

Few of the English officers in high command had then 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 117 

•giny experience of warfare at sea, and Vice Admiral Penn 
7vas the only one who had received a regular naval edu- 
cation. 

The Council, in giving Blake chief command at sea, 
had left the selection of two vice admirals to himself; 
and to these posts he had, with Cromwell's approval, 
named Penn and Bourne. Penn sailed on board the 
Triumph, of 6S guns, taking young Robert Blake, the 
nephew of the admiral, as his lieutenant. Bourne was 
on board tlie St. Andrew, 60. Not supposing hostilities 
likely to occur while the Dutch ambassador was still in 
England, Penn was on leave, and there was not a practical 
seaman left in hio-h command in the Eno-lish fleet. 

The battle began about four in the afternoon, with a 
rapid exchange of broadsides. On the part of the English 
no line appears to have been formed ; the ships grappled 
as they happened to meet. The James, a ship of fifty guns 
and 260 men, seems to have borne the brunt of the action. 
She received 70 shots in the hull, lost all her masts, and 
was completely dismantled as to her battery, by the Dutch 
fire. She was exposed to a storm of shot for four hours, 
and had several of her officers killed or wounded. In 
spite of great loss her men stood well up to their unac- 
customed work, and their energies were aroused afresh, 
just before nightfall, by the arrival of Bourne and his 
division, which attacked the enemy's rear. This additional 
force came just in time, and Van Tromp withdrew at 
dark, after a drawn battle. Blake was too much disabled 
to follow, and spent the night in repairs. At daylight 
no enemy was in sight, and the English found themselves 
unopposed upon the Narrow Seas. 

Two Dutch ships had been taken, one of which soon 
sank, and the other, of 30 guns, was manned for 
immediate service. For such a well contested affair 



118 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN, 

the loss in killed and wounded had been surprisingly 
small. 

This sudden encounter, without any declaration of war, 
caused profound feeling- in both countries. The Dutch 
ambassador insisted that V^an Tromp was the assailed, 
and only stood on the defensive,' and that, with his force, 
he could have destroyed the E^nglish if he had chosen. 
The English mob was so indicrnant that the ambassador 
had to be protected by a military guard ; and, after long 
and angry debate and negotiation, took his leave. 

Blake continued to patrol the Channel, widi undisputed 
sway, harassing the Dutch trade and making man)- 
captures. The Dutch merchantmen were forced to 
abandon the route by the Channel, and to go north about; 
or else land their goods and tranship them, at great 
expense, through France. The English Council not only 
fitted out the captured Dutch ships, but added more 
men-of-war and some fire-ships to their fleet ; while the 
seamen's wages were raised, and a large number enrolled 
in the service of the State. 

In the meantime the Dutch, a people of vast resources 
and inflexible spirit, were not idle. But Blake, who was 
the chief authority in naval matters, caused the English 
Council to raise the English navy to 250 sail and fourteen 
fire-ships. While squadrons were sent to the western 
part of the Channel, to the Baltic, and to the Straits of 
Gibraltar, one hundred and seventy sail, of all classes, as 
well as the fire-ships, were to be placed under Blake's 
immediate orders, to fight the enemy. 

The full number of vessels so authorized was nevei 
fitted out; but in a month from the fight off Dover the 
Admiral had one hundred and five ships, carrying near 
4000 guns, under his immediate command. The great 
difficulty was m obtaining men to man the ships ; and, to 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 119 

make up for the scarcity of seamen, two regiments of 
foot were taken bodily on board the fleet — and from that 
time marines, as a distinct corps, have formed part of th^ 
equipment of English men-of-war. 

In the meantime the Dutch were urging their prepa- 
rations, and their clock-yards at the Texel, the Maas, and 
on the Zuyder Zee, were at work day and night. They 
laid the keels of sixty men-of-war, intended to be larger 
and more perfect than had ever been seen in the North 
Sea. Merchantmen of size were fitted as men-of-war, and 
all able seamen lured into service by high pay and the 
hope of prize money. In a few weeks Van Tromp found 
himself in command of one hundred and twenty sail, of 
all classes. 

It had become necessary for England to send to the 
Baltic for supplies of hemp, tar and spars, and it required 
a strong fleet to convoy these vessels safely home. 
Another fleet was detailed to intercept the rich Dutch 
merchant fleets from the East Indies and elsewhere, as 
well as to break up the great herring fishery, which the 
hardy and industrious Hollanders had monopolized, and 
in which their vessels were employed by the thousand. 
The spring fleet of herring vessels, numbering 600, was 
now comlnof home from the nelp-hborhood of the North 
British Islands, and as Tromp showed no immediate 
Intention of putting to sea, Blake himself went to the 
North, leaving Sir George Ascue, his second in com- 
mand, In the Channel, to keep a lookout for Van Tromp. 

Blake sailed In the Resolution, with sixty ships, leaving 
Dover Road on the 21st of June, and about the time he 
had passed the Frith of Forth, Van Tromp appeared in 
the Downs with over one hundred men of war and ten 
fire-ships. Ascue was compelled to shelter his division 
under the guns of Dover Castle, and the whole south of 



120 KAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

England was at the mercy of Van Tromp. Couriers 
were sent by land, in hot haste, to intercept Blake on the 
Scotch coast, and recall him from his ill-judged cruise. 
But before they found him he had met the Dutch herring 
fieet, escorted by twelve men of war, and captured 600 
of the " busses," with their freight. This was not done, 
however, without a most gallant fight by the twelve Dutch 
men-of-war, which lasted three hours, against over- 
whelminof odds, endinor In the sinkini/ of three and the 
capture of the others. Blake let the fishing boats go, 
after warning them never to fish again among the British 
islands. For his conduct in thus restoring their all to 
these poor people he was afterwards much blamed by 
many in England. 

Meantime, in the South, hurried preparations were 
made to meet Van Tromp. But the latter was detained 
in mid-channel by a calm, and when the wind sprung up, 
it blew from the land with such force that the Dutch fleet 
could not approach, and his intention of crushing Ascue 
was foiled. With the same strong wind Van Tromp, 
therefore, returned to the Texel, where an immense fleet 
of merchant vessels were waitlnof for him to escort them 
clear of all danger from English cruisers. This duty he 
accomplished, and then followed Blake to the North, 
Blake's fleet had suffered much from bad weather, and 
was now scattered among the roads and havens of tho 
Orkneys, for repairs. But on hearing that his enemy 
was approaching, Blake hastily re-assembled his ships 
and prepared for the encounter. 

Towards evening on the 5th of August the fleets came 
In sight of each other, about half way between the Orkney 
and the Shedand islands. Both leaders were confident, 
and both anxious to engage. But while preparadons 
wQrQ belnof made a fierce gale burst upon them, which 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 121 

damaged and destroyed many of the ships of both fleets, 
but particularly those of Van Tromp, so that he was 
obliged to make his way home with much loss, followed 
by Blake, who ravaged and insulted the Dutch coast 
with impunity. Thence he returned to the Downs, and 
gathered his fleet once more about him. 

In the meantime Ascue and De Ruyter, Van Tromp's 
second in command, had had a drawn battle, and the 
States General of Holland, undaunted by recent re- 
verses, were refitting another large fleet for service in the 
Channel. 

The failure of V^an Tromp to accomplish anything with 
the powerful fleet provided him, caused great tumult in 
Holland. The Dutch had been so long accustomed to 
victory at sea that the mob became ungovernable. Van 
Tromp was insulted upon his return, and resigning his 
command, retired to private life. De Witt, a renowned 
statesman, as well as an Admiral, was called to the com- 
mand of the fleet. De Ruyter now wished to resign his 
command, pleading long service, advancing years, and 
failing health. But his countrymen would not listen to 
his retiring, and insisted upon his once more leading 
them, as of old, to glory and victory. 

When the fleet was ready for sea, De Witt joined De 
Ruyter, and assumed the supreme command. 

To oppose this new danger Blake summoned Ascue 
and his squadron from Plymouth, and the two hostile 
fleets were soon at sea, and searching for each other, to 
have a renewed trial of strensfth. 

Blake had sixty-eight ships of various force, and was 
superior to the Dutch fleet both in number of vessels and 
in guns. 

While cruising about the Channel in search of the 
Dutch, Blake fell in with the fleet of the Duke de Ven. 



122 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

dome, which was fresh from a victorious engagement with 
the Spanish fleet. The French fleet was intended to 
reHeve Dunkirk, then besieged and closely pressed by 
the Spaniards. The town was in extremity, but the 
disaster to the Spanish fleet had left the sea open to 
France, and Vendome at once ordered a relief squadron 
to Calais Road, to take on board men, arms, stores and 
fresh provisions. 

At this time privateers from Dunkirk and from Brest 
preyed, as they had always done, more or less, upon 
English commerce, and English cruisers often retaliated, 
but there was no formal declaration of war between 
France and England. 

As soon as Blake learned of Vendome's doing's at 
Calais, without awaidng instructions or reporting his 
intentions, he stood for the Roads, and found there seven 
men of war, a small frigate, six fire-ships, and a number 
of transports with men and provisions on board, all ready 
to sail. Such an accession would enable Dunkirk to hold 
out indefinitely. 

English interests, both commercial and political, required 
the downfall of this stronghold of privateers. The Council 
of State was convinced that if the place was taken by the 
Spaniards they might be induced to cede their conquest 
to Great Britain, as was, indeed, afterwards done. Blake 
knew the public feeling in England, and was certain that 
if he struck a successful blow at the French force, he 
would not be held responsible for any trouble it might 
occasion with the French Government. Only he must 
take care to succeed. 

He, therefore, in spite of Vendome's protest, attacked 
the force anchored at Calais, and in a few hours had the 
whole — war-ships, fire-ships and transports. Admiral 
officers and men — safe under the guns at Dover Casde. 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 123 

Dunkirk could do nothinof but surrender to the Arch- 
duke Leopold, and the seizure of Vendome's squadron 
in time of peace remained a monument of Blake's bold 
conception and rapid execution, as well as an illustration 
of the extreme powers which he exercised at sea, inde- 
pendent of the Council of State. 

The prizes safely bestowed, he sailed again at once, 
in quest of De Witt and De Ruyter. On Sept. 28th 
Admiral Penn, in the James, came in sight of the Dutch 
off the A^(7r//^ Foreland. He at once signaled to Blake, 
who, in his turn, transmitted to his vanguard the order to 
" bear in among them as soon as the fleet was up." 
" Blake was always ready for action ; he trusted in God 
and kept his powder dry." De Witt was not really in 
condition for battle, for his ships were not in good order, 
and his men were very discontented. The brave and 
experienced Ruyter urged him to avoid a battle at that 
time ; but his pride prevented him from listening to the 
suggestion ; and he resolved to fight at a disadvantage 
rather than afford the world the spectacle of a Dutch 
admiral retreating before any number of the presumpt- 
uous islanders. His preparadons for batde were hastily 
made, much confusion prevailing in the fleet. 

BATTLE OFF THE NORTH FORELAND. 

De Ruyter, always foremost in fight, led the van upr a 
this occasion ; De Witt the main body, and De Wi'.de 
the rear. Evertz, another disdnguished Dutch adir.iral, 
was stationed with a reserve, to send succor where it 
should be most needed. 

Just before the batde opened De Witt sent ^ despatch 
boat round the fleet, to enjoin the captains to do their 
duty on this great day. But it is well known t'^at apathy, 
intrigue and discontent ruled on every Dutch deck, and 



n/ 



1,24 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

in almost every cabin ; and no good could result from 
'luch an appeal at the eleventh hour. 

The Brederode, Tromp's old flag-ship, was in the fleet, 
but the admiral appointed in Tromp's place thought it 
not prudent to remain among Tromp's devoted followers, 
and just before the action commenced his flag was 
removed to a huge Indiaman. Several other ships, 
besides the Brederode, resented the disgrace of their 
favorite leader, and either disputed the new admiral's 
orders, or obeyed them without the zeal which is essential 
to victory. Hoping that success would restore loyalty, 
De Witt hove his topsails to the mast, and formed line. 

By four in the afternoon the English line was also 
formed and well up, the only order issued from the 
Resolution being " to attack, but hold their fire until 
close in with the enemy." Then the whole of the English 
van bore down upon the Dutch, who kept up an inter- 
mittent and harmless fire as it approached. Just then 
the Dutch line tacked, and the two fleets came into almost 
instant collision. They were so close together that an 
unusual number of shots told, and the crash of the first 
broadside was terrific; the roar of artillery continuing 
Incessantly for more than an hour. 

After that the action became less furious, and there 
were pauses In the storm of battle. The Dutch ships 
fell off to a greater distance, and, as a breeze arose the 
clouds of powder smoke partially cleared away. But, 
although the Dutch fell back, they fell back fighting, and 
with their faces to the enemy ; and, with their usual 
obstinate valor they continued the batde until night fell 
upon the scene of slaughter. The Dutch had lost most 
men, while the English had suff"ered most severely in 
masts and rigging. It was thought by experienced 
commanders, in both fleets, that De Witt would have 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 125 

been completely defeated and broken had he not drawn 
off at nightfall. 

Ruyterhad, as usual, commanded his important division 
with consummate skill and bravery. He lost a large 
proportion of the crew of his own ship, and his masts and 
rigging were almost destroyed, and the huil seriously 
shattered. De Witt himself, by his courage and conduct 
during the battle, atoned in part for his rashness in 
fighting such an enemy in the then condition of his fleet 
But, in spite of their efforts, the Dutch had the worst of it. 
Two of their ships foundered in the first shock of battle ; 
and two others were boarded and taken, one of them 
being the Rear Admiral's flag-ship. As has been seen, 
the loss of life in the Dutch fleet was greaf, and this, in 
addition to the general disaffection, caused about twenty 
of De Witt's captains to take advantage ci the darkness, 
withdraw their .ships from the main flee'c, and make for 
Zealand, where they carried the first news of disaster. 

As many of the Dutch fleet rerpyined in sight, and kept 
their lights burning during the night, Blake naturally 
assumed that they would figh^, again at daylight. Every 
one, therefore, on board ihe English fleet was engaged 
in repairing damages, h\ securing prisoners, ca ing for 
the wounded and bury'i/g the dead. 

At daylight the whole fleet bore down for the Dutch 
position, and, from the attitude of the latter, It seemed 
likely that the bloody work of the previous day would 
beofln ag^ain. 

De Witt wished to fight ; but a change of counsel took 
place before the fleets got within cannon shot of each 
other. Evertz i.nd De Ruyter's opinion prevailed, and It 
was decided to collect the scattered ships, to gain one of 
their own ports, repair, refit, and re-man the ships, and 
await the orders of the States General. 



126 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Blake, in his disabled state, could not prevent them 
from carrying out this decision ; and was obliged to 
content himself with petty raids upon the Dutch coasts, 
such as Tromp had inflicted upon the English in the 
preceding year. 

The news of this action was received in London and 
throughout England with great exultation. It was the 
first great naval action fought by the English since the 
days of Elizabeth. England had come off victorious 
against the best seamen and most experienced admirals 
of the world, Tromp, Evertz, and Ruyter had been 
regarded as invincible sea commanders ; yet now a land 
officer, with but three years' experience of the sea, with 
soldiers and landsmen, had successfully withstood the 
attacks of veteran sailors who had swept the great navies 
of Spain from the face of the ocean. 

Blake took his place at once among the highest of 
living" Admirals. 

Parliament wished at once to release the ships hired 
from the merchant service, and to reduce the fortifications 
about Deal and Sandown. 

This Blake replied to by a demand for thirty new 
frigates, but such was the momentary confidence and 
security felt that he did not obtain them, Vendome's 
renewed complaints were treated with haughty indiffer- 
ence, and the Council dreamed of a "'mare claiisitm^' the 
dominion of the Narrow Seas, and the exclusion of the 
Dutch from all the valuable fisheries. 

They little understood the resources and determination 
of the people with whom they had to deal. 

1652-3, 
And now we shall see how sturdy Van Tromp came to 
the fore again. 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 127 

De Witt's return with his discomfited fleet was the 
signal for great disorders in Holland. The enemies of 
the Orange party did not hesitate to accuse him of rash- 
ness, cowardice and treason. The sailors of the fleet, 
who had been almost mutinous before the battle, really 
became so after it. 

Even on board his own flag-ship De Witt was not 
entirely free from danger. He had, before sailing, 
executed some seamen for mutiny, and excited much 
silent rage thereby ; but when he came back unsuccess- 
ful, the popular passions were aroused, and he was mobbed 
as soon as he landed, in Flushing ; his proud heart being 
almost broken by the insult from a people he had served 
so long and well, he fell sick, and relinquished his com- 
mand. Ruyter shared some of his unpopularity, but was 
persuaded to continue in his command. 

Having so often triumphed at sea, the Dutch could not 
understand that their reverses were not the result of 
gross misconduct in their sea generals ; and they now 
remembered that, if Tromp's success in the early part of 
the war had not been very great, he had not, at least, 
suffered defeat, and they felt that the elements, and not 
man, had destroyed the powerful fleet which he had lost. 

His reputation became once more the first in Holland, 
while personal feeling and his past training peculiarly 
fitted him to meet the English. 

The States General were ready to reverse their decision 
when they found him necessary, and this was confirmed 
when they found that the King of Denmark, alarmed by 
the sudden growth of England's maritime power, was 
making interest with leading Dutch statesmen, not only 
for a vigorous renewal of hostilities, but also for the 
restoration of Tromp to his offices and honors. 

The most eminent of his rivals in naval ability and in 



128 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

political influence were, upon his restoration, appointed 
to serve under him as Vice and Rear Admirals, These 
were De Witt, Ruyter, Evertz and Floritz. De Witt, 
completely mortified and disgusted, excused himself on 
the plea of ill health ; and Ruyter joined the fleet as 
second in command. 

The Danish King- now refused to allow the Engrlish 
ships, which had been sent to the Baltic for the naval 
stores so necessary to the fleet, to return through the 
Sound or the Belts, and thus proved a new enemy for the 
Commonwealth to deal with. 

As the term for which Blake had been appointed sole 
General and Admiral of the fleet had expired, he requested 
the appointment of two colleagues, as he considered the 
coast command of England equally important with that 
of the cruising fleet. 

Colonel Deane and General Monk were accordingly 
so commissioned, both these officers being in the land 
service, and at that time actively employed in Scotland. 

Winter had now set in, and Blake distributed the 
fleet, some for convoy duty, and some for repairs. The 
Dutch were hard at work in their dock-yards, and Blake, 
with a reduced force, cruised from port to port of the 
Channel, not expecting the enemy to appear at sea before 
the return of fine weather. In this he had greatly mis- 
taken the energy and influence of Tromp, who, in an 
incredibly short time, fitted out and manned a vast fleet; 
and while the English squadrons were dispersed in various 
directions, suddenly appeared off the Goodwins with more 
than one hundred sail of the line, frigates and fire-ships. 
His plan was bold and well conceived. Coming suddenly 
into the Downs with this large force, he intended to close 
up the Thames, cut off reinforcements preparing there, 
and then to fall upon Blake's division, and either capture 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 129 

It or drive it westward out of the Channel; then, with the 
coast at his mercy, he could dictate terms to the Com- 
monwealth. At that time a winter cruise or. campaign 
was hardly thought possible; but Tromp relied upon a 
swift and daring blow to finish the war in a few days. 

Blake was then in the Triumph, and the first intimation 
he had of Tromp's being" at sea was from his own look- 
out ships. On the 9th of December the two fleets v/ere in 
presence of each other, between Calais and Dover ; and 
the English Admiral then learned that Tromp was in 
command, and accordingly prepared himself for serious 
work. 

A council of war was held on board the Triumph. 
Blake declared his Intention to fight, even without his 
detached squadrons, rather than leave the coast exposed 
to the incursions of the great and uncrippled Dutch fleet. 
All that December day the two Admirals worked for 
the weather gage. The succeeding night was long, cold 
and stormy, and the ships were unable to keep well 
together. At daylight of the loth the manoeuvres for the 
weather gage were renewed, the two flag-ships, the 
Brederode and the Triumph, both drawing toward the 
Nase, and by three in the afternoon the fleets were quite 
near each other, off that headland of Essex. 

Tromp being most anxious to engage, made a sudden 
effort to get alongside the English Admiral. The latter's 
ship, however, by a skillful evolution, passed under the 
Brederode's bows to the weather gage. In passing the 
two ships exchanged broadsides, and the battle opened. 
Blake's ship was closely followed by the Garland, and 
missing the Triumph, Tromp ran afoul of this second ship, 
and carried away her bowsprit and head. The Garland 
and the Brederode then engaged, the English ship, 
though much lighter, fighting bravely until joined by the 

9 



1^0 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Bonaventure, 30, when the two together rather over- 
matched the Brederode. Troinp, by every possible 
appeal, encouraged his men; but his position was 
becoming very precarious, when Evertz, seeing him in such 
straits, attacked the Bonaventure, placing that small ship 
between the two Dutch flag-ships. The four ships were 
all grappled together, and it was more than an hour 
before the weight of metal obliged the two English ships 
to yield. After they had suffered great loss the Dutch 
boarded and captured them. Of the other English ships 
the Triumph, the Vanguard and the Victory bore the 
brunt of the action. In spite of being surrounded b)- 
enemies, and suffering severely in men, hull, masts and 
rigging, they all came out of the desperate encounter 
uncaptured. Night came early at that season, and the 
fleets were about separating, when Blake heard of the 
capture of the Garland and Bonaventure, and he at once 
attempted their recapture. This brought on a more 
destructive conflict than the previous one. Blake was 
surrounded by the Dutch ships, and the Triumph was 
three times boarded, and the assailants as often repulsed. 
She was reduced to a wreck, and with difficulty kept 
afloat, and had it not been for the Sapphire and the 
Vanguard, which stood by him with extraordinary courage 
and devotion, the English Admiral must have succumbed. 
Thick fog and darkness at last interposed and enabled 
Blake to draw off his ships toward Dover Roads. 

The next morning there was a dense fog, and the 
Dutch were not to be seen. His disabled vessels re- 
quired a shelter, and the English Admiral, therefore, 
resolved to run into the Thames, and there repair dam- 
ages, ascertain the enemy's intentions, and wait the recall 
and concentration of his scattered squadrons. 

In the action off the Nase the Dutch had had much 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLANt>. 131 

the best of it, but had lost many men, and one of their 
ships had blown up, every soul on board of her perish- 
ing. Tromp's and Ruyter's ships were both unfitted 
for further service, and many others were crippled ; but 
they were the victors, and once more masters of the 
Channel, 

Blake offered to resign, but the Council would not hear 
of this, and only seemed intent upon weeding out of the 
.icet those captains who had not shown sufficient zeal and 
courage. Several were broken after proper inquiry, 
among others, Blake's own brother, who was reported as 
guilty of neglect of duty. 

More vessels were concentrated and placed under 
Blake's orders, and the effective force of the navy raised 
to 30,000 men. 

While reforms, renovations and recruitments were 
being carried on under Blake's own eye, Tromp sailed 
up and down the Channel with a broom at his masthead, 
typical of his having swept the Narrow Seas ; and the 
States General proclaimed a state of blockade of the 
British Islands. 

Caricatures and ballads were circulated in the Dutch 
cities, all bearing upon the late naval event. The 
fear that Tromp would seize the Channel islands, and the 
certainty that he had effectually cut off commerce, 
hastened the preparations of the English for a second 
winter campaign; and, on the 8th of February, 1653; 
Blake, still in the Triumph, sailed, at the head of some 
sixty men-of-war and frigates, having Monk and Deane 
with 1 200 soldiers from the army on board, Penn, the 
father of the Quaker proprietor of Pennsylvania, was the 
vice admiral, and Lawson the rear admiral. 

In the Straits of Dover he was joined by the Ports- 
mouth squadron, of twenty sail ; and with this addition 



132 NAVAL BA-^TTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

to his Strength, Blake resolved to seek the Dutch fleet, 
and once more give battle. 

Tromp had gone to the southward, to meet a large 
fleet of Dutch traders whicli had collected near Rochelle, 
with the intention of convoying them home. Here 
intellieence reached him that the Enolish were about to 
(juit the Thames with a large fleet, and he hoped to be 
able to return in time to block It up In the river mouih. 
and to keep the Portsmouth squadron from effecting a 
junction with the main body. But Blake had stolen a 
march upon the Dutch Admiral, and when the latter came 
up with Cape la Hogue, he was surprised to find a force 
equal to his own prepared to dispute the passage of the 
seas so lately swept by his broom. Me, however, accepted 
battle eagerly, for he was confident of victory. 

THE BATTLE OFF PORTLAND. 

Day was just breaking, on the morning of the i8th of 
February, 1653, when the Dutch van was made out frorr. 
the masthead of the Triumph. Blake was on deck at 
once, and a grand spectacle he must have had, as the sun 
rose, showing the heaving wintry sea covered with ships, 
their sails and pendants lighted up by the early rays. 
There were seventy-three Dutch ships of war, convoying 
more than three hundred merchant ships. Owing to the 
darkness the ships had not seen each other until only three 
or four miles apart. The English flag-ships happened to 
be all within hailing distance of each other, but General 
Monk was some miles astern, in the Vanguard, and the 
bulk of the English fleet about five miles astern of Ad- 
miral Blake when the Dutchmen hove In sight. 

Tromp, with his seaman's eye, saw his advantage, and 
at once availed himself of it. 

With the wind in his favor he might have forced his 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 133 

way by, and carried his convoy to the Scheldt in safety, 
returning at his leisure to give battle. But he chose to 
play a bolder game, and fancying that his enemy's van- 
guard of some twenty ships could not resist the weight 
of his attack, he sent his fleet of traders to windward, out 
of range, with orders to await there the issue of the 
engagement. 

This great battle was fought under circumstances which 
lent it thrilling interest. Both nations had had time to 
collect their best fleets, and the laro-est and finest vessels 
they had were there arrayed against each other, com- 
manded by the most renowned Admirals. Blake, Deane, 
Penn and Lawson were on one side ; Tromp, De Ruyter, 
Evertz, Swers, Floritz and De Wilde, all great names, on 
the other. 

The fleets were nearly equal in strength, and their 
relative merits had to be determined on that day. Even 
the common seamen on each side felt that this was the 
decisive battle. 

At the outset the Dutch had the wind, and therefore, 
the advantage of position. They were also well up 
together, and when they opened on the English van- 
guard it seemed almost impossible for only about twenty 
ships to withstand the crash of so many heavy broadsides. 

As usual, the Triumph was the first of the English to 
engage, and the Brederode, ever in the van, was ready 
to meet her, reserving her fire until within musket shot, 
when her broadside would have most deadly effect. With 
a strong favoring breeze Tromp shot by the Triumph 
pouring a fearful broadside into her as he passed; and 
then, tacking, gave her a second and more destructive 
one, leaving her with decks strewed with killed and 
wounded, and torn canvas, stranded rigging, and totter- 
ing masts. After this the two Admirals parted for the 



184 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

day, for Penn came dashing up, in the Speaker, followed 
by other vessels, to cover Blake from some part of the 
circle of fire which threatened him with destruction. 

As the other divisions of the English Beet came up the 
battle became general. On both sides the wreck and 
"^ destruction was awful. In less than one hour after the 
first shot was fired almost every ship engaged had 
received serious damage. At one moment an English 
< rew was to be seen boarding a Dutch man-of-war, and 
the next they would be driven back, and their own vessel 
boarded in turn by the doughty Hollanders. Here 
might be seen a ship completely wrapped in flames; 
there one foundering, with all her men, their cries for 
help unheeded by either friend or foe ; perhaps elsewhere 
occurred a fearful explosion, which sent ship and crew 
into the air together, and added fresh volume to the lurid 
cloud which hung over the scene. 

Cotemporary writers say that the tremendous roar of 
artillery could be heard along the shores of the Channel, 
from Boulogne on the one side to Portland Bill on the 
other. 

About midday Monk succeeded in arriving up with his 
division, and the contest was no'v entirely upon equal 
terms. De Ruyter, as ever, in the forefront of battle, added, 
if possible, to his already well earned renown. Early in 
the day he singled out and engaged the Prosperous, a 
liired ship of forty guns, commanded by a Captain 
Barker. The English ship maintained so steady a fire, 
in response, that De Ruyter, impatient, and wishing to 
finish her and pass on to fresh combats, called away his 
boarders, ran his ship alongside the Prosperous, and the 
Dutchmen gallantly boarded, leaping down on her deck, 
sword and pistol in hand. But, to their surprise, they 
were driven back again in a very few minutes. Not 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 135 

satisfied with forcing back his assailants, Barker threat- 
ened De Ruyter in return; but the brave old Dutchman, 
singing out, "Come lads! that was nothing! at them 
again !" led them to a second and more successful 
boarding. Barker and his officers were unable to resist 
this renewed assault, and were soon prisoners. At this 
very moment Blake, with several vessels, came up to 
their assistance. .The prize was recovered, and Ruyter 
himself was surrounded by the English. Vice Admiral 
Evertz and Captains Swers and Krink hastened, in 
their turn, to relieve Ruyter from his dangerous position, 
and the battle soon raged with extraordinary violence 
around this new centre. Penn's ship, the Speaker, was 
so shattered as to be unfit for further service, and when 
night put an end to the first day's engagement he was 
despatched to the Isle of Wight, for the ships left at that 
station. 

The Dutch Captain Cruik, in the Ostrich, was very 
conspicuous in this day's engagement. Like a true sailor, 
he fought till he had not a spar showing above his 
bulwarks, and his deck was literally covered with the 
dead and wounded of his devoted crew. At last he was 
boarded by the English ; but, as the ship appeared to be 
sinking, and her officers and crew were nearly all killed 
or wounded, the boarders made hasty plunder of her 
valuables and left her to her fate. De Wilde offered his 
aid to bring her ofT; but suddenly it fell calm, and not 
having a particle of sail spread, the attempt to tow her 
off failed, and she was again abandoned. Next morning 
Blake found her fioatincr about, without a livine soul on 
board, and the unburied corpses lying just as they had 
fallen ; occasionally, under a more than ordinarily heavy 
roll, showing a startling movement. 

Captain Swers, afterward a most distinguished Dutch 



136 NAVAL BATIXES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Admiral, was taken prisoner. He had gone to the 
assistance of Captain De Port, who was being roughly 
handled by two English frigates, and the four ships were 
immediately locked together. De Port's ship had several 
shots between wind and water, and began to fill. He 
himself was severely wounded by a large splinter; never- 
theless, as he lay on his back, in great agony, he waved 
his sword, and shouted words of encouragement to his 
men, until ship and crew all went down into the deep 
together. 

The Dutch had always been noted for close fire, but on 
this occasion the English fire proved quite as deadly and 
regular. Swer's ship foundered from shot holes, himself 
and those of the officers and crew left being taken on 
board the frigates, and their lives thus preserved. 

Toward dusk of the second clay Blake felt himself in 
a sufficiently strong position to be able to send some of 
his best sailing ships with orders to gain the wind, and if 
possible prevent the escape of the vast fleet of rich 
traders which had remained ho\'e to, awaiting the issue 
of the action. Tromp saw the movement, and at once 
divined the cause, so he fell back, with a great part of 
his fleet, to cover his convoy. This movement put an end 
to that day's action; for, seeing their Admiral make sail 
and leave the enemy, some of the Dutch Captains made 
sail, and, under the cover of night, were soon far away, 
Blake remained on the scene of action, but with his 
men too much exhausted, and his vessels too much 
damaged, to permit of a chase in a mid-winter night. 

Both sides had shown the most devoted valor and un- 
tiring zeal. The Dutch had had eight large ships either 
taken or destroyed. During the battle the Prosperous, 
the Oak, the Assistance, the Sampson, and several other 
English ships had been boarded and taken, although 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 137 

most of them were afterward recaptured. The Sampson 
was so damaged that her Captain, Button, and his officers 
and men, were taken out of her, and she was allowed to 
sink. 

The flag-ship Triumph suffered most severely. Hei- 
Captain, Andrew Ball, was killed, as was the Admiral's 
secretary. Sparrow, who was shot down at his side, dac] 
nearly half her crew were killed. Blake himseli was 
wounded in the thigh; and the same ball which Umed 
him for life tore away a part of Deane's buff coat. 

The Dutch loss was never ascertained, but it was very 
heavy, for some of their ships had nearly all the men 
killed or wounded ; and the appearance of tlieir gun- 
decks, spattered with blood and brains, shocked even the 
callous captors. 

At night Blake sent many of his wounded on shore, 
where preparations were made for them, all classes turn- 
ing out to relieve and succor them. Collections of money 
and clothing were made in all the South and West of 
England, and the miserable provision made at that day 
for the sick and wounded was supplemented by the 
spontaneous gifts of the people. 

Blake's own wound, which was not really dangerous 
at first, required repose and proper treatment, but he 
would not cro on shore. 

At night the fleets lay close together, never losing 
sight of each other's lights during the whole of the long 
winter's night. During these dark hours all hands were 
employed in stopping leaks, repairing sails, and getting 
gun tackle in readiness to renew the contest in the 
morning. 

A dead calm had succeeded to the fresh breeze which 
was blowing when the battle began ; and if it continued 
*iie Dutch could have no choice as to renewing the fight 



^ 



138 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN 

But at daylight a light breeze sprang up, and Tromp, 
anxious to take home his convoy in safety, disposed his 
men of war in the form of a crescent, with the traders in 
the centre, and crowding all sail, stood directly up Chan- 
nel, Blake followed in pursuit, with all his available 
ships. It was noon, however, before the Triumph came 
within gunshot of the rearmost Dutch ship, and it was 
two in the afternoon before the main body came up with 
them, off Dungeness. 

Seeing that he would be compelled to fight, Tromp 
ordered his convoy to make the best of their way to the 
nearest Dutch port, keeping close along Calais and 
Dunkirk, for protection ; and then he turned upon his 
pursuers, like a lion at bay. 

The battle was renewed with great fury. De Ruyter 
again performed miracles of courage and conduct, but 
the fortune of war was ao-ainst him. After some hours 
his own ship became unmanageable, and would have 
fallen into the enemy's hands but for Tromp, wdio saw his 
danger, and sent a ship to extricate him. With great 
difficulty this was accomplished. An hour or two later 
Tromp began to haul off towards Boulogne, but it was not 
until night fell again that the hostile fleets separated once 
more. 

That night proved bitterly cold, but unusually clear, for 
winter, so that the English fleet was enabled to keep the 
Dutch lights in sight. On this day just closed Blake had 
captured or destroyed five of his enemy's ships, and, in 
consequence of the recent reforms, had not had occasion 
to complain of the want of courage, steadiness or prompt- 
ness of a sinofle commanding officer. In the Dutch fleet 
Tromp had to contend against want of concert, party 
bitterness and personal envy in many of his captains. At 
the close of this day's fighting several of the latter sen>^ 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN EXGLAAD AND HOLLAND. 139 

word on board the Brederode that they were out of 
powder, and Tromp was compelled to send them away 
in the night, so as to prevent cowardice and treason from 
spreading to the other ships. To conceal his true motive 
he pretended to give them orders to take a new position, 
to windward of the convoy, to protect them from the light 
craft of the English, which were hovering about. 

But when day dawned Blake saw at a glance that the 
Dutch fleet was considerably reduced in numbers, and 
inferred that a squadron had been despatched during the 
night to cover the convoy ; and he at once sent a 
squadron of fleet sailers after them, while he himself 
bore down once more on his reduced but unconquered 
enemy. Tromp met him with undaunted courage, and, 
as usual, fought desperately. But the most he could 
now hope for, with his reduced fleet, was to occupy Blake 
until his richly laden convoy could reach a friendly port. 
But even this seemed doubtful. After the first shock 
of this day's renewed fighting he felt that he wculd be able 
to afford them but small protection ; and he sent Captain 
Van Ness to the merchant fleet, with orders to crowd all 
sail for Calais Road. As the fiofht went on he ac/ain sent 
another officer to hurry them in, or else the English 
frigates would soon be among them. But the wind was 
blowing from the French coast, and Van Ness' most 
energetic efforts were insufficient to carry the confused 
mass of traders near enousfh to the Roads to be out of 
danger. More than half the men-of-war and frigates of 
the Dutch fleet had been scattered, taken, or sunk, by this 
time, and many of the captains who were left had, 
contrary to Tromp's orders, retreated upon the flying 
CDUvoy. Confusion now reigned, and as the English 
came up, the merchantmen, in their alarm, either ran 



140 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

foul of each other and knocked themselves to pieces, or 
fell into the enemy's hands. 

Still engaged with the retreating Dutch men-of-war, 
Blake arrived on the scene in the afternoon, and finding 
some of the merchant ships actually throwing themselves 
into his way, he began to suspect that it was done to lure 
him to make captures and give the discomfited fleet time 
to rally. He accordingly gave strict orders that every 
man-of-war still in condition to follow and fiofht should 
press on after the main body of the enemy, leaving the 
traders to be either picked up by the frigates detailed for 
the purpose, or driven where they could be captured 
after the Dutch fleet was swept from the Channel. At 
last darkness put an end to the chase. Tromp ran in 
and anchored the remnant of his fleet under the French 
shore, about four miles from Calais. They were in 
number about one-half what he had sailed with ; and all 
of them more or less damaged. 

Blake's pilots all agreed that Tromp could not, as the 
winds and tides then were, come out to sea again, in 
order to g-et home. He, therefore, anchored his fleet 
also, and set to repair damages. The night was dark 
and a gale was blowing, and ships' lights could not be 
seen at any distance. At daylight the sea was clear 
where so many ships had been at anchor at sunset. 
Tromp had slipped away toward Dunkirk; and afterward 
succeeded in entering the various ports of Zealand. 

Blake felt that it would not be well for him to follow 
the enemy into the flats and shallows of his own coast, 
and so he stood over for Eneland. The bad weather 
continuing, he carried his fleet and the prizes into Stoke 
Bay, whence he reported his success to Parliament. 

During these successive days of fighting there had 
been great loss of life. Seven Dutch captains were 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 141 

killed, and three taken prisoners. Three English cap- 
tains were killed, and Blake himself, Rear-Admiral 
Lawson, and many other distinguished officers wounded. 
The total loss on each side was never published. A day 
of thanksgiving was appointed in England, and provision 
made by public subscription, as well as by the State, for 
the widows and children of those who had fallen. 

Blake took no rest, in spite of his wound, but refitted 
and revictualed his ships, intending to strike a blow at 
the Brest privateers. 

But in April he received information that the equally 
indefatigable Tromp was making great efforts to equip 
another fleet. He at once proceeded off the Texel, with 
about one hundred sail. In the Texel he saw many 
men-of-war, but Tromp himself had already gone out to 
the Northward, to convoy in an expected fleet of traders 
from Spain and the Levant. By good seamanship he 
brought them safe home, but not by the Channel which 
he had formerly brushed down with his broom. 

Then came Cromwell's assumption of supreme power; 
and political events of magnitude usurped, in English 
minds, the Dutch war, and all other matters. 

Blake's opinions were known to be unfavorable to the 
extreme practices of the Protector, and when the Dutch 
heard of the revolution which had occurred in London, 
by means of the army, they jumped to the conclusion that 
their redoubtable naval enemy would no longer carry on 
the war with the same energy. But in this they were 
deceived. Blake was loyal to his country and her wel- 
fare, before all, and told his captains that "it was not for 
them to mind affairs of State, but to keep foreigners from 
fooling us." Though he suspected Cromwell, and ab- 
horred military rule, he had patriotism enough not to 
deprive his country of such services as he could render, 



142 NAVAL BATTLES. ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

because It had allowed itself to submit, in an irregular 
way, to a power not of his choosing. 

It was fortunate that he took this resolution promptly, 
for Tromp, Evertz, Ruyter and De Witt, under the im- 
pression that the English fleet was divided by jDolitical 
discord, sailed for Dover Road, with one hundred and 
thirty ships, manned in haste, took some prizes, and 
began firing upon the town. 
^ The English fleet was then in three divisions. Deane 
and Monk, sailing together, in the Resolution, had under 
their orders thirty-eight sail, carrying 1440 guns, and 
about 6000 men; Penn had thirty-three sail, with 1200 
guns, and 5000 men ; and Lawson had thirty-four ships, 
with I 200 guns, and about 5000 men. The Dutch had a 
few more ships than the English, but were about equal 
in guns and men. 

When Tromp thus suddenly reappeared, Blake was at 
the North, with a small fleet, but couriers rode overland, 
day and night, to apprise him that the Dutch were again 
in the Channel, and had fired upon Dover. 

He made all sail for the South as soon as he heard this 
important news, having a favoring breeze, and burning 
with anxiety to join the main fleet before a battle took 
place. 

But on the 2d of June, before he arrived, the hostile 
fleets sighted each other near the Gable, and were soon 
in collision. Lawson was in advance of the English fleet, 
and broke through the Dutch line about midday, sepa- 
rating Ruyter's division from the rest, and engaging it 
heavily before the main body on either side could get up. 

In about an hour Tromp came to Ruyter's relief, and 
the action then became general. One of the first shots 
which struck the Resolution killed General Deane, and 
Monk threw his cl'^ak over the mangled body, and called 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 143 

to his men to avenge his death. For some hours the 
Dutch fought with reckless courage, and when night fell 
both fleets had sustained great damage and loss, but 
nothing was decided. All that night, while the hostile 
fleets lay to, near each other, repairing damages, Blake 
was carrying every possible stitch of sail, to reach the 
fleet. He was, of course, unaware of the day's events, 
of the death of his friend and comrade, Deane, and of the 
doubtful position of the English fleet. The officers and 
men who had been engaged on the English side watched 
anxiously for signs of the coming of their great leader, 
but when the summer mornincr dawned no trace of his 
sails could be seen on the northern horizon. Tromp was 
unaware that Blake was expected that day, as he believed 
him to be too far North to be recalled. He, therefore, 
spent the whole morning in manoeuvres for the weather 
gage. A calm put a stop to this at about noon, and then 
the great guns opened again on both sides, and the battle 
was renewed with great energy, but neither side seemed to 
have any decided advantage. If there was any it was upon 
the side of the Dutch. But early in the afternoon Blake 
managed to draw near, with a light air, and his thundering 
broadsides upon the flank and rear of the Hollanders put 
new life into the harassed and flaof^rlnQr Eng-lish. Youno- 
Blake was the first of the English reinforcement to engage 
the enemy, and, as If to announce the arrival of the great 
captain upon the scene, he broke through the Dutch line, 
belching forth death from both batteries, and greeted with 
tremendous cheers from the English ships. 

By four o'clock the battle was over, and the retreat of 
the Dutch began. Tromp fought w^ith the energy of 
despair ; but nothing could withstand the onset of such a 
force, led by Blake himself 

The Brederode boarded Penn's flag-ship, the James, but 



144 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the attack was repulsed by Penn's crew, who, in turn, 
boarded the Brederode, and would probably have cap- 
tured that ship had not Tromp, resolved not to fall into 
his enemy's hands alive, thrown a match into the maga- 
zine, and caused an explosion, which sent the upper deck 
and the gallant boarders upon it into the air, the planks 
shivered into splinters, and the men horribly scorched and 
mutilated. 

Most strange to relate, Tromp himself was but little 
hurt; but a report of his death spreading, many of his 
captains, thinking all was lost, bore up and fled. De 
Ruyter and De Witt exerted themselves in vain to stem 
the tide of disorder and defeat. T'^omp, after his mar- 
velous escape, left the wrecked Bre\Jerode for a fast sail- 
ing frigate, and passed through his fleet, encouraging 
those who stood fa t, and threatening the waverers, while 
he fired upon some who fled die scene. 

But it was too late. The day was lost, and the brave old 

man had at last, rehictaritly, to give the order for retreat. 

Just then a fresh gale sprang up, but the English fleet 

pressed :>ail after diem, sank some ships, captured others, 

and were only made to cease by darkness coming on. 

Favored by the darkness, Tromp anchored in Ostend 
Road, and next day escaped, with the remnant of his fleet, 
into Weilingen. 

The news of this o^reat defeat threw the United Prov- 
inces into a dangerous ferment. The mob rose in many 
towns, and committed great excesses. The Admirals 
offered to resign ; and they all declared that they would 
go to sea no more with such an organized fleet as they 
then possessed. De Witt openly acknowledged that the 
English were, for the present, masters of the sea. 

The naval power of Holland was indeed, for the time, 
completely broken; and the final battle of the war, 



ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 145 

hazarded and lost two months later, was an expiring effort, 
made with crippled resources, and under circumstances 
of the orreatest discouragement. 

The English fleet, though it kept the sea, was scarcely 
in better condition than that of their enemy. Blake kept 
the Dutch coast blockaded, nevertheless, while their com- 
merce was intercepted and their fisheries idle. In doing 
this his fleet suffered from bad and scanty provisions, 
which brought on much sickness. Blake himself fell ill, 
and had to be taken on shore, more dead than alive, leav- 
ing to Monk, Penn and Lawson the carrying out of his 
plans. 

One more blow, and all was over. In the temporary 
absence of the English blockading fleet, the Dutch squad- 
rons at Weilingen and the Texel put to sea, and effected 
a junction. But their shattered fleet was felt to be unfit 
to cope with their powerful opponents, and when they 
met the English fleet, they endeavored to avoid a battle. 
But Penn and Lawson pressed sail to come up with them, 
and some fighting had already taken place, when night 
came on, and stopped it. 

Next day a heavy gale prevented a renewal of the 
action; but on the next the fleets once more met. 

During the close fighting which ensued the aged and 
able Van Tromp received a musket ball through the 
heart, and fell upon his own quarter-deck, — an appropri- 
ate death for the gallant but unfortunate veteran. 

At his death his fleet fled; the English pursuing with- 
out mercy, for the ruthless Monk was now in command, 
and had ordered his captains to give no quarter. They 
made no prisoners; and the end of the engagement was '^ 
rather a massacre than a battle. 

Immediately after this the humbled States General sued 
for peace. 
lo 



146 



NAVAL BAITLES, AxNCIEIST AND MODERN., 



FRENCH AND DUTCH IN THE MEDITER- 
RANEAN. A.D. 1676. 




iN the latter part of 1674 Messina and a part 

of Sicily revolted against the Spaniards, 

and Louis XIV resolved to sustain the 

insurrection, in pursuance of his political 

designs. In consequence, Duquesne, who 

had just been named General of the Naval 

Forces, sailed from Toulon, on January 

29th, 1675, with eight ships-of-war, bound 

for the Sicilian coast. 

Before we detail his operations there, it may be of 

interest to give some sketch of this very remarkable 

man. 

Abraham, Marquis Duquesne, one of the greatest 
seamen France ever produced, was born in Dieppe, an 
important seaport in the north of France. He entered 
the navy early, and soon rose to the command of a ship, 
in which he joined in the recapture of some of the French 
islands from the Spaniards, for which service he was 
reported most favorably to the great Richelieu. During 
these operations he learned of the death of his father, in 
action with the Spaniards, and Duquesne seems ever 
after to have entertained the greatest dislike for this 
nation, causing them to feel the effects of his resentment 
on numberless occasions. In 1638 he, under circum- 
stances of great difficulty and danger, rescued from under 



FRENCH AND DUTCH IX THE MEDITERRANEAN. 147 

the guns of St. Sebastian several French vessels which 
had been stranded there. The same year, at the battle 
of Gattari, Duquesne decided the victory by blowing up 
the Spanish admiral's flag-ship, by means of a fire-vessel. 

The next year he served on the Biscayan coast, and, at 
Santona, was dangerously wounded in the jaw by a bullet, 
while boarding a Spanish galleon. 

During 1 641 he served against Spain In the Mediter- 
ranean, was constantly engaged, and again wounded. 
In succeeding years he was actively employed, at Cape 
de Gatte, and at Carthagena, and was again wounded. 

Already a veteran, Duquesne was obhged, by the 
neglect Into which the French navy fell after Richelieu's 
death, to take service under the Swedes, then engaged 
in a naval war with Denmark. Queen Christina, who 
knew his merit, received him cordiall)', and made him a 
vice-admiral. 

In this capacity he was engaged In the naval battle oi 
1644, under Fleming and Torstensen, against the old 
king, Christian IV, of Denmark. He also served In 
other naval battles, in the north, under Admiral Wrangel. 

Peace being concluded between Denmark and Sweden, 
Duquesne left the service of the latter State, and returned 
to his own country; and. In 1645, was again actively 
employed against Spain, and was again wounded. 

In 1647, being then a capitaine de vaisseaii, he was sent 
to Sweden to purchase four vessels of the line for the 
French navy. After this he had command of Dunkirk, 
in French Flanders, for five years. 

In 1653 occurred the naval operations of the Duke de 
Vendome, about the mouth of the Gironde, In consequence 
of the civil war of the Fronde. The French navy had at 
this time so decreased that the Duke, in summoning 
Duquesne from the North Sea to his assistance, was 



148 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

obliged to ask the latter to man and equip some of the 
vessels at his own expense. 

On his way down the Channel to join the Duke, 
Duquesne met an English squadron, which summoned 
him to lower his flag, a token ot submission at that time 
imposed upon all foreigners by the English, if within 
Ushant or even Finisterre. To this demand Duquesne 
returned a haughty refusal, whereupon a very close and 
murderous engagement took place, which resulted In the 
English, although quite equal in guns to the French, being 
put to flight. 

On arriving off the Gironde a Spanish squadron, 
operating In connection with the insurgents, attempted 
to bar his progress ; but he drove them off, and succeeded 
in joining the Duke, and greatly assisted in the reduction 
of Bordeaux and all Guienne. 

In recognition of his services Anne of Austria bestowed 
upon Duquesne a chateau and estate In Brittany, with a 
promise of reimbursement for his expenses In fitting out 
his squadron. 

The peace of 1659 relegated Duquesne to civil life; 
but Colbert, during this cessation of arms, had the wisdom 
to imitate Richelieu in fostering and rebuilding the navy 
of France, so that, when war broke out between France 
and Holland, In 1672, the former was able at once to 
send to sea a formidable fleet. 

During this year Duquesne held a high command in 
the great naval battles in the North Sea ; particularly 
those off Southwood, where Vice Admiral d'Estrees was 
opposed to the Dutch Admiral Benkaert ; as well as the 
two battles where the combined French and English 
fleets, under Prince Rupert, Admiral Spragge, and 
d' Estrees, fought the Hollanders under Ruyter, Cornells, 
Tromp and Benkaert. 



FRENCH AND DUTCH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 149 

England suddenly made peace with Holland, but 
France continued the war, with the alliance of Spain, 
Germany, and the two Sicilies ; and it is at this point that 
we take up Duquesne's battles with the Dutch fleet. 

When he sailed from Toulon, in January, 1675, he had 
on board the Duke de VIvonne, General of the Galleys 
of France, who had been named Viceroy of Sicily. He 
had in charge a convoy, also, with a great store of wheat 
and other provisions for Messina. 

On February i uh, in sight of the Sicilian coast, 
Duquesne and Vivonne were attacked by a Spanish fleet 
of twenty men-of-war and seventeen galleys, commanded 
by Don Melchoir de la Cueva. Duquesne sustained the 
attack of this larofe force with such vioor and determi- 
nation that he gave time for the Chevalier de Valbelle to 
arrive from Messina with a considerable reinforcement, 
when, In his turn taking the offensive, he drove off the 
Spanish fleet, pursued it until it took refuge in Naples, 
and then triumphantly entered Messina with his convoy. 

He soon after. In concert with Vivonne, captured the 
town of Agosta ; after which Duquesne was sent back to 
France, with the greater part of the fleet, to bring back 
to Sicily munitions of war and reinforcements, then much 
needed at Messina. 

On his arrival at Toulon, Duquesne learned that the 
great Dutch naval commander, Ruyter, had entered the 
Mediterranean, to operate in conjunction with the Spanish 
fleet. He was placed in command of a very considerable 
fleet, to enable him to measure his forces with those of 
the redoubtable Hollander who had been so successful 
against the English and others. Duquesne was then 
sixty-four years of age, and Ruyter was near seventy. 

The Dutch Admiral had risen from the lowest origin to 
be the Admiral of Holland. This was the result of his 



150 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

own great ability and bravery ; and he was so much the 
favorite of the Dutch oovernnient and people that, 
althoucrh he beocred to be excused from further service, 
on account of age, nothing would satisfy them but that he 
should make this one important campaign. Duquesne 
sailed again, from Toulon, on the 17th of December, 
1675, with a fleet of twenty ships-of-the-line, and six fire- 
ships, bound for Messina. 

As soon as the veteran Ruyter heard that he had put 
to sea, he hastened to meet him. Some days before this 
an Enolish trader had met the illustrious Admiral of Hoi- 
land off Melazzo, about twenty-five miles from Messina. 
The Englishman inquired what he was doing in those 
parts, and Ruyter replied that "he was waiting for the 
brave Admiral Duquesne." 

The hostile fleets met on the i6th of January, 1676, 
off the Lipari Islands, between Salino and Stromboli, 
under the very shadow of the ever active volcano. 

The whole day was passed in reconnoitring each 
others strength, and in manoeuvrincr; and durinof the 
whole succeedino- nio-ht the fleets were workino; for the 
weather gage. Each conimander had a true respect for 
the courage and ability of his opponent; and each 
knew that he must expect an exceptionally vigorous 
attack. 

On the morning of the 8th, at daylight, Duquesne, who 
had obtained the advantage of the wind, crowded sail 
down upon the Dutch fleet, which lay about two leagues 
to leeward. 

The French were in three divisions. Their van was 
commanded by Preuilly d'Humieres; the rear by Cabaret 
I'aine, both excellent officers; the centre was under the 
command of Duquesne himself, who had his flag in the 
Saint Esprit, and was immediately supported by the 



FRENCH AND DUTCH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 151 

Chevalier de Valbelle, In the Pompeux, and that splendid 
sailor, Tourville, in the Sceptre. 

The Dutch fleet, whicli comprised twenty-four ships-of 
the-line, two flutes, and four fire-ships, was also divided 
into three. Their van was commanded by Verschoor, 
their rear by De Haan, and the centre by Ruyter himsulf 

The French came down In such a beautiful line that 
Ruyter himself showed and expressed a sailor's admira- 
tion for the skill and discretion shown. The French van 
opened fire at about nine In the morning, and both fleet.-; 
immediately engaged. The battle, as may be supposed 
from the character of the officers, was a most obstinate 
and well contested one, and continued for seven hours, 
with very varying fortunes. At the termination each side 
claimed a victory ; but the advantage was clearly with 
Duquesne, for the Dutch fleet, which was there to bar 
his passage, was so much Injured that Ruyter could not 
prevent Duquesne from entering Messina with his fleet; 
which he did, on the following day, without molestation 
from the Dutch, 

In the course of the battle Ruyter's flag-ship, the Con- 
cordia, and Duquesne's flag-ship, the Saint Esprit, had 
an encounter, which lasted until the Concordia declined 
further battle, after so sharp and murderous an engage- 
ment that Ruyter said it was the hottest fight he had ever 
been In In his life ; and no one was a better judge. 

But this battle of the Liparl Islands was only the pre- 
lude to a still more desperate and important one. 

The active and enterprising Duquesne, having refitted 
at Messina, sailed from that port again, with two objects 
in view. The first was to protect important convoys of 
stores and provisions expected from France ; and the 
second to protect the town of Agosta from an expected 
attack by the Dutch fleet. 



152 NAVAL BATILES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Ruyter, hearing that Duquesne was again at sea, went 
straight to meet him, with his fleet reinforced by a Spanish 
squadron, under the command of Don Francisco de la 
Cerda. 

The rival Admirals made each other out on the 21st 
of April, and the next day the fleets met off Agosta, which 
is some fifteen miles to the northward of Syracuse, 

Duquesne had now thirty saihof-the-line, and eight 
fire-ships. Ruyter had twenty-nine sail, nine galleys, and 
four fire-ships. 

On this occasion the French Admiral had entrusted the 
command of his van to Almeiras, his rear to Commodore 
Cabaret I'aine, and himself commanded the centre. 

Ruyter, in this battle, preferred to command the van 
himself, and not the centre, as was usual for the Com- 
mander-in-chief. 

The Spanish ships he put in the centre of his line of 
battle, and Vice-admiral de Haan in command of his rear 
division. 

At about two in the afternoon Ruyter, with the van 
division, attacked that of Almeiras, which sustained his 
vigorous assault with great steadiness. Unfortunately, 
however, Almeiras was soon killed by a cannon-ball, and 
waverine and indecision at once showed itself in his 
division ; but the Chevalier de Valbelle coming up, and 
assuming command, the temporary confusion ceased, and 
the division conducted itself well. Just then Duquesne 
came down to the assistance of his van ; and the batde 
became general all along the line, the firing of the two 
well drilled and well appointed fleets being described as 
unusually sharp and terrible. 

The two Admirals' ships, the Saint Esprit and the 
Concordia, met once more, and a most obstinate and 
destructive fight ensued. For a long time it was doubt- 



FRENCH AND DUTCH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 153 

ful which would have the advantage. At last the Con- 
cordia suddenly and unexpectedly slacked her fire ; then 
it ceased, and she wore ship, and made sail in retreat. 
Ruyter had been badly wounded, his left foot being carried 
off, and his right leg broken in two places, while, in falling, 
he had injured his head severely. 

Even after he fell he continued to exhort those about 
him to fight courageously, but, disheartened by the strong 
resistance of the French, and by the desperate wounds of 
their beloved Commander-in-Chief, the Dutch van, from 
that moment, ceased their fire and ran to leeward, leaving 
their centre and rear still heavily engaged. 

Vice Admiral de Haan was true to his reputation as a 
superior sea officer, and made desperate efforts to 
retrieve the fortunes of the day, but the victory was with 
the French, and De Haan was glad to be able to withdraw 
his fleet, at nightfall, and to take refuge in the convenient 
port of Syracuse. 

Duquesne remained off the port all night, his battle 
lanterns burning, and the next day took every means to 
provoke the Dutch to come out and renew the battle, but 
without effect. 

This ended the naval battle of JEtna, or Mount Gibel. 

Ruyter died seven days after the batde. 

On the 28th of May Vivonne, the Viceroy of Sicily, 
came out of Messina with Duquesne, in his flag-ship, the 
vSaint Esprit, with the intention of attacking the combined 
fleets of Holland and Spain, which were then together, 
and lying in Palermo. They arrived off that city on the 
31st, and next day the Spanish and Dutch fleets came 
out. But it was not until the second of June that a 
decisive battle was fought. It was decided in a compara- 
tively short time, for no less than twelve of the Dutch 
and Spanish ships, set on fire by the fire-ships of 



154 NAVAL BATTLES, A.NXIENT AND MODERN. 

Duquesne, blew up, destroying, besides dieir officers and 
crews, Admiral de Haan, Don Diego d' Ibarra, Don 
Francisco de la Cerda, Flores, and odier admirals and 
principal officers. 

The French loss in diis last engagement was com- 
paratively insignificant. 

Upon his return from this engagement Duquesne met 
the "Concordia," which had left Syracuse with the re- 
mains of Ruyter, which she was carrying back to Holland. 
Giving the ship free passage, he saluted the remains of 
the illustrious seaman in an appropriate manner. Louis 
XIV, in learning of Ruyter's death, ordered all of his 
forts and batteries (in sight of which the Dutch ship 
passed while bearing his remains) to salute. This was 
considered very remarkable, for Ruyter was a Protestant, 
which, in that day, was considered worse, in France, than 
being a political enemy. 

Still more remarkable, Duquesne was a Protestant, 
and when it came to recompensing him for his long 
and arduous and distincjuished services, Louis XIV 
required him to renounce the Protestant faith, promising 
him a Marshal's baton, and odier honors. Duquesne 
simply replied that, if he was a Protestant, his services 
were Catholic. He received the domain of Du Bouchet, 
and afterwards a Marquisate, but never was really in 
favor with Louis. 

It may be of interest to some to continue the history 
of- this great French sailor. 

He continued to serve at sea, though an old man; and 
among some other exploits of his of this date, was the 
burning of some Spanish vessels in the very port of Bar- 
celona. 

After the peace of NImeguen he kept very quiet, 
and seldom went to court, an unusual thing in those 



FRENCH AND DUTCH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 155 

days, especially for those who had such claims as 
Duquesne. 

In 1682 he was sent with a fleet to Algiers, which city 
he bombarded for several days, with great effect, but 
was compelled, by bad weather, to return and winter at 
Toulon. 

In June, i 6ST), he reappeared before Algiers, completely 
reducing the place by his fire, so that the population rose 
up against the Dey. All the French slaves were given 
up, but Mezzo Morto, who had succeeded to the Dey, 
who had been put to death by the insurgents, renewed 
the defence, when the bombardment was continued by 
Duquesne, to such an extent that it rendered the Al- 
gerines harmless for a long time, by destroying all their 
vessels and naval stores. 

Two years after this Duquesne commanded the French 
fleet which bombarded Genoa, and, at different times, 
inflicted so much damao-e that the Do^e and four Sena- 
tors were obliged to come to \^ersailles, to beg pardon, in 
person, from the King. It was on this occasion that the 
Doge was asked what he found most surprising in Ver- 
sailles, and answered " that it was to iv^d himself there." 

The Genoese expedition was Duquesne's last service. 
He had been sixty years in actual service, a time only 
rivaled uy Doria. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes 
distressed the veteran beyond measure. He alone, of all 
the Protestants of France, was excepted from proscription, 
and enabled to retain his rank and honors. But his 
children and friends, his relatives and co-religionists, were 
banished from their homes ; and this had a most depress- 
ing effect upon the Admiral, and, no doubt, hastened his 
death. 

He died at Paris, on February 2, 1688, aged seventy- 
eight years. With his last words he implored his eldest 



156 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



son not to serve against his country, as many of the 
exiled Huguenots were then doing. So great was the 
feeHng at the time of his death, that his remains were 
privately buried, his son's request to have them sent to 
him in Switzerland being refused ; but he erected a tablet 
to his memory. 

This was in great contrast with the splendid obsequies 
and the tomb given by Holland to his adversary, Ruyter. 

Louis XVI, afterwards tried to make reparation for this 
treatment of such a great French naval hero, by placing 
Duquesne's portrait in the royal apartments at Versailles. 
In 1844 the City of Dieppe erected a bronze statue in 
his honor, and one of the large vessels of the French 
navy is generally called " Duqucsn',"," 




A CARAVfcL OF THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. 



BATTLE OF CAPE LA HAGUE, 157 



BATTLE OF CAPE LA HAGUE. A. D. 1692. 




A HAGUE, or La Hougue, Is in the Depart* 
ment of the Manche, in the north of 
France. It is to the westward of Cherbourg 
and on the same peninsula. It Is often 
confounded with La Hogue, another cape 
to the eastward of Cherbourg; and the 
batde which took place off this point in 
1692, and which gave such a fatal blow to 
the naval power of Louis XIV, is generally called, in the 
histories, La Hogue. 

Louis XIV, having seen the failure of the expedition 
which he had prepared to attack Ireland, with a view to 
the re-establishment of James II, resolved, if possible, to 
strike a vital blow at England in another manner. He, 
therefore, prepared an armament which was to protect 
and take part in a descent upon the territory of England, 
herself the hereditary enemy of France. 

The French King reckoned not only upon the number 
and force of his fleet, but also upon the revulsion in public 
opinion which seemed to have taken place in England, in 
regard to King William. Many eminent persons, among 
others the famous Duke of Marlborough, were known to 
have opened secret relations with James II ; and that 
Prince had reason to count upon many adherents in the 
English fleet, which he had for a long time commanded, 
previous to his accession. Among others, he is said to 



158 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

have depended upon Admiral Russel and Rear Admiral 
Carter. 

Louis XIV, confident in the ultimate result of all his 
designs, laid down the plan of a naval expedition, by 
which he would be enabled to land a force of 30,000 
men, fully equipped, upon the English coast. 

Tourville was ordered to the command of the French 
fleet. Aime Hilarion de Cottentin, Count de Tourville, 
was born at the Chateau of Tourville, in Normandy, in 
1642. He entered the Order of Malta while still a boy, 
and at the age of eighteen began to serve in the galleys 
of the Order, where he soon made a reputation, so much 
so that he was called to court, and given the grade of 
Capitaine de Vaisseau. He served under the Duke 
de Beaufort, at the relief of Candia, then besieged by 
the Turks; and afterward distinguished himself In the 
war with Holland ; and still later, distinguished himself 
at the relief of Messina, which had revolted against the 
Spanish rule. 

The following year he took part In Duquesne's brilliant 
expedition against the Algerlnes and Tripolitans, when 
the Corsairs received the most crushing blows which had 
ever been dealt to them, up to that time. 

In 1 684 he participated In the bombardment of Genoa, 
and four years after, In a successful cruise against the 
Dutch. In the same year he inflicted a severe bombard- 
ment upon Algiers. 

In 1 6S9, being now an Admiral, he commanded a fleet 
which, In connection with one under D'Estrees, was to 
support the cause of James II. This combined fleet suc- 
ceeded in landing some few men and some munitions of 
war in Ireland, but, on the whole, the operation was a 
failure. While in command of the French fl^ct, in the 
year following, he had a battle with the Anglo-Dutch fleet, 



BATTLE OF CAPE LA HAGUE. 159 

off the Isle of Wight, which was a most inglorious affair 
for the English, their Admiral, the Earl of Torrington, 
behaving with great want of spirit. The result was that 
Tourville captured and burned many of the English ships, 
not losing one himself The sturdy Dutchm jn made a 
good fight, and came off much better than their English 
allies. 

In 1692, as above stated, Tourville was ordered to the 
fleet fitted for a descent on England ; and now we shall 
take up the account of the battle once more. 

The bulk of Tourville's fleet was in Brest, and as the 
spring opened he received orders to sail from that port, 
enter the Channel, and attack the English fleet, no matter 
in what force they might be found, before they could be 
reinforced by the Dutch fleet, which was preparing to 
join them. 

The French King and his ministers had convinced 
themselves that, in the event of a collision, a very large 
part of the English fleet would go over to the side of the 
Allies of James II. 

All these projects and all these hopes were brought to 
naught, however, by head winds and bad weather, which 
detained Tourville in Brest harbor for more than a month, 
while the two squadrons from Rochefort and Toulon, 
which should have reinforced him, were prevented by the 
same bad weather from joining him in time. 

Tourville, supposing that the same winds which had 
prevented his leaving Brest had facilitated the junction of 
the Allies, requested the permission of the Minister of 
Marine to remain in Brest until his expected reinforce- 
ments had joined him. 

Pontchartrain, at that time minister, and exercising an 
enormous influence over the King, ordered him to fight 
the English fleet, whether he was strong or weak — ^'fort 



160 NAVAL BATTLCS, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

oitfaibhr The minister added, " It does not become you 
to discuss the King's orders. Your duty is to execute 
them, and to sail for the Channel at once. Send me word 
whether you intend to do so ; and, if not, the King will 
place in command of the fleet some one who is more 
obedient and less cautious." 

This was certainly a most insolent and improper 
manner for the minister — who was, by the way, profoundly 
ignorant of naval matters — to address the greatest 
seaman which France, up to that time, had produced. 

But Pontchartrain was noted for his arrogant and 
overbearlne official manners. Tourville havintr at this 
time complained of the bad quality of the powder supplied 
him, and reporting that it could not be depended upon, a 
subordinate of the Ministry of Marine was deputed to 
reply to him that " if he found the powder did not carry 
far enough, he had only to approach his enemy a little 
nearer." There seems to be absolutely something 
grotesque and ridiculous in such words, addressed in 
such a way, to such a man, had it not been for the sad 
termination of the action into which he was driven, against 
his own professional convictions. 

Tourville put to sea with about fifty-six ships, in place 
of seventy-eight which had been promised him. He had 
hardly got to sea before Louis XIV received information 
that the Jacobite plot had completely failed, and that it 
was reported that Marlborough and several other persons 
of distinction had been arrested ; and that the Dutch and 
English fleets had effected a junction. 

The King at once sent orders, in great haste, to des- 
patch fast-sailing corvettes to seek for Tourville, and to 
warn him not to go into the Channel before he had been 
joined by the squadrons expected from the southern 
ports. This was just what Tourville had asked for, when 



BATTLE OF CAPE LA HAGUE. 161 

he received such an unmerited rebuke from Pontchar- 
train. 

Unfortunately, none of the vessels despatched for the 
purpose found him, and he pressed on into the Channel 

On the 19th of May, at daylight, between BarOeurand 
La Hague, he found himself in the presence of the Allied 
fleet, the most powerful that, up to that time, had ever 
taken the sea. It consisted of ninety-nine ships, thirty- 
six of which were Dutch. Seventy-eight of these vessels 
were of more than fifty guns. Admiral Russel's fla? 
was flying on board the Britannia, of iC'O guns; his Vice 
Admiral was Sir Ralph Delaval, in the Royal Sovereign^ 
100; and the Rear- Admiral, Sir Cloude^ley Shovel, in the 
London, loo. There were three other lOO-gun ships iit 
the English fleet. The second division, or '' Blue Squad- 
ron" of the English fleet was commanded by Admiral 
Sir John Ashby, in the Victory, loo; Vice- Admiral George 
Rooke, in the Windsor Castle, 90, and Rear-Admiraf 
Richard Carter, The Dutch fleet was commanded by 
Admiral Allemonde. 

The total number of guns carried by these ninety-nine 
ships was 6998; and they were manned by nearly 41,000 
men. 

To oppose this great force Tourville had, as we have 
said, sixty-three vessels, including seven which had joined 
him from Rochefort; and about 3500 guns, with a little 
less than twenty thousand men. 

When they made each other out the French fleet bore 
west of the Allies, and it was quite hazy, so that neither 
could tell upon which tack their opponent was. But soon 
after sunrise the haze dispersed, and the French were 
found to be upon the starboard tack, the same as the van 
and centre of the Allies, and forming their line. At 8 a. 
M. the Allied line was formed, the Dutch in the van, Ad- 
II 



162 NAVAL BATILES, AxXCIENT AxND MODERN. 

miral Russel in the centre, and Sir John Ashby in the 
rear. 

Tourville, at sight of the Allies, and making out their 
force and numbers, called a council of war on board his 
flag-ship, the Soleil Royal. All his officers of any rank 
or experience advised him to avoid a battle against such 
odds. By 9 a.m. the French fleet had stretched nearly 
as far to the southward as the Allied fleet ; the wdnd 
continued light from the southwest, and the French fleet 
could with ease have avoided or delayed an engagement. 
But Tourville exhibited to his ofiicers the orders he had 
received — written orders from the king himself — and at 
the sight of these no more was to be said, and at about 
half past ten a.m. the French fleet, to the astonishment 
of the English, made all sail, and bore down to the 
attack. It was certainly an act of temerity, for the 
division of Admiral Russel himself would have been not 
a bad match for the French. 

Tourville, with his division, steered straight for that of 
Russel. The latter did not avail himself of the advantage 
of firing as his adversaries approached, but allowed 
Tourville to come down in silence and choose his own 
distance ; at the same time he ordered the Dutch fleet to 
tack to the northward. In doimx so a Dutch vessel fired 
at Tourville, and the whole line at once took it up. 
Tourville at first had evidently intended to bear dowm and 
cut throuoh the English line ; and had he done this the 
probability is that the English centre would have been 
seriously damaged before the rear or van could have 
approached to its assistance, as the light wind dwindled 
to a calm as soon as the heavy firing commenced. In 
bringing to when he did, the French Admiral relinquished 
this advantage. 

The engagement which now followed was terribly 



BATTLE OF CAPE LA HAGUE. 163 

destructive, especially in the centre. The English espec- 
ially attacked the Soleil Royal, on which Tourville showed 
the Admiral's Standard of France. At times she had to 
sustain the fire of five or six ships at once. She was 
finally so cut up in sails, rigging, and spars, that she had 
to be towed out of action. It is said that the English 
excelled the French in rapidity of fire, delivering three 
broadsides to two of the French. 

Durinor the fi^ht between the centre divisions the 
English rear division cut in two a French division 
commanded by Admiral Pannetier, and turned the fiank 
of the French rear. This would have been most disastrous 
for the latter had not the greater part of Ashby's division 
pursued four or five vessels of Pannetier, in place of 
turning again upon the mass of the French. Gabaret, 
the French rear commander, was thus enabled to hold 
his own against the rest of Ashby's division, while a 
portion of his ships went to the relief of Tourville, who 
was sore beset, as we have seen. Coetlogon, who 
commanded the succoring ships, was an old friend and 
comrade of Tourville's, and he determined to save his 
chief of to die with him. He made so vigorous an 
attack 1 lat he not only extricated the Soleil Royal, but 
even made Russel's division, strong as it was, temporarily 
give way. 

A dense fog now came on, and firing ceased, as they 
could not distinguish friend from foe, the ships drifting 
together, v/ith the tide. Gabaret, with the ships of the 
rear division which were left him, profited by the respite, 
to fall in astern of Tourville's line, and they dien anchored. 
Russel's division not doing so Immediately, drifted ofT to 
some distance. 

The killed and wounded in this day's fight were very 
numerous, on both sides. The English ship Eagle, a 70, 



164 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

lost seventy men killed and one hundred and fifty 
wounded. Amonof the English killed was Rear-Admiral 
Carter, whom the French always insisted had promised 
James II to abandon William, while he was revealing to 
the latter the French plans against him. 

Ashby's ships having now abandoned the pursuit of 
Pannetier's, that Admiral joined Tourville, and a brisk 
fire was once more opened. Happily for the French, it 
was just then impossible for Russel to come up, owing to 
lack of wind and a strong tide, or the French fleet must 
have been crushed, as it lay between him and Ashby. 

The Dutch division had been held in check by the 
French van division, owing to the ability with which its 
Commander, d'Amfreville, had preserved the weather 
gage. Possibly, also, the Dutch did not fight with their 
whole heart for those who, as they said, had sacrificed 
them off Beachy Head, some years before. 

Night was now coming on, and Admiral Ashby, be- 
coming uneasy at his separation from the rest of the fleet, 
determined to rejoin Russel. To do this he had to pass 
through the French fleet, and succeeded in doing so, with 
some loss. 

The French fleet having anchored to stem the flood 
tide were soon left far to the westward by the English, 
who kept under way. On the morning of the 20th the 
bulk of the French vessels were seen nine or ten miles to 
the westward, and a greneral chase ensued. 

Thus far no French ships had been taken, and only one 
or two destroyed. Tourville gathered most of his ves- 
sels, except eight or ten which had made for Brest, when 
chased off the day before, and finding many of them 
much injured, ordered them to endeavor to reach any 
port they could, in Normandy or Brittany. In the unfor- 
tified places they w jre at once stranded, and as much of 



BATTLE OF CAPE LA HAGUE. 165 

their armament and stores were saved as possible. Some 
nfteen of their finest ships, in this position, were soon 
afterward burned by the EngHsh, and it was this which 
pointed out more forcibly to the French government the 
necessity of a military port either at La Hague or Cher- 
bourg, as had been repeatedly urged by Colbert and 
Vauban. 

Had the English understood the intricate navigation 
about the Channel Islands and Saint Malo as well as the 
French did, there is no doubt that they would have 
secured some of the French ships as trophies. As it was, 
not one was brought in to an English port. 

The moral effect of a victory remained the same, how- 
ever, rendering William III more firm upon his throne, 
while the hopes of James II were completely dissipated. 

Louis XIV, the real author of the defeat suffered by 
his fleet, wrote to Tourville the followino- singular letter: — 

"I have had so much joy in learning that, with forty- 
four of my ships, you have fought, for a whole day, ninety 
of my enemies, that I feel no sorrow for the great loss 
which I have su^ered." 

This letter was intended, no doubt, to hoothe the 
wounded feelii'gs of Tourville. Indeed, Lou/j seems to 
have taken upon himself the whole responsibility of the 
defeat, as he nhould have done. 

The following year he bestowed upon Tourville, in 
company vith the Duke de Villars, Marquis de Bouffllers, 
the Duke de Noailles, and Catinat, the baton of a 
Marshal of France. 



i66 



NAVAL BATTLES. ANCIENT AND MODEKif, 



BENBOW. A. D. 1702. 




'^p^OR some reason Benbow has always been 
considered the typical seaman of the latter 
part of the i 7th century, a distinction which 
he appears to owe to his honesty and 
bravery, together with the fact that he was 
almost always actively employed in the 
service of King William III, with whom he 
was a favorite. He was born in 1650, and 
entered the navy as a midshipman in the reign of 
James 11. 

Queen Anne ascended the English throne on the 8th 
of March, 1702, and on the 2d of May declared war 
against France. 

In September, 1701, Vice-Admiral Benbow had sailed 
to the West Indies with a squadron of ten sail of third- 
and fourth-rate ships, under orders to detain the Spanish 
galleons, which were to make their yearly voyage home, 
with treasure and valuables. 

Admiral Chateau Renaud also sailed from Brest, with 
the same destination, with fourteen sail-of-the-line and 
■uxteen frigates, to meet the galleons and escort them to 
Cadiz. Benbow was very active in the West Indies, not 
only in protecting English trade, but in combating the 
plans of Chateau Renaud, of which he had managed to 
become informed. 

On the 19th of August, 1702, in the evening, Benbow, 
with his small squadron, being off Santa Martha, fell in 



BENBOW. 167 

With ten sail of French ships, under Admiral Du Casse. 
His squadron, consisting of four ships, each mounting 
sixty or seventy guns, one large Dutch ship, another full 
of troops, and the remainder chiefly small vessels, were 
running down close in shore, under their topsails. 

Benbow immediately gave chase; but his ships being 
very much separated, he was under the necessity of wait- 
ing their arrival up before commencing an attack upon 
die French. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, his 
ships being up, the engagement began. 

The British squadron consisted of the Breda, of 70 
guns, Benbow's flag-ship, one sixty-four, one fifty- four, 
and four forty-eight- gun ships. 

Benbow's intention seems to have been to overtake the 
leading French ship, and as soon as his second astern was 
abreast of this ship, to have commenced the action. If 
these were disabled, the rest would have fallen an easy 
prey; but the Falmouth, 48, disobeyed his orders, and, 
being in the rear, closed with and engaged the Dutch 
ship. The Windsor, 48, and Defiance, 64, also engaged 
the ships nearest to them, but after an interchange of 
broadsides, hauled off, and stood out of gunshot, in a 
most cowardly manner. The brunt of the action thus 
fell upon the Breda, the flag-ship, which was opposed to 
the two sternmost French lir^e-of-battle ships, by which 
she was seriously cut up and disabled. 

The fight lasted until night fell, and Benbow continued 
the pursuit of the enemy until the next morning, but at 
daybreak he found he had only the Ruby, 48, near him, 
the rest of his ships being five miles astern. 

At 2 P.M. on the 20th, the sea breeze having set in, the 
French formed line and made sail on their way, followed 
by the Breda and two other English ships ; the remaining 
four making no effort to join in the pursuit of their 



168 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

enemy. The ships with Benbow could only annoy 
the enemy's rear, but he continued to follow them, under 
every disadvantage, for the next two days. At 2 a.iM. of 
the 24th the Breda was enabled, by a change in the wind, 
to pass close to the sternmost French ship, and a smart 
action ensued. Benbow, in person, boarded the French 
ship three times, in doing which he received a severe 
wound in the face and another in the arm ; and shortly 
afterward the gallant Admiral had his right leg shattered 
w^ by a chain-shot, and was carried below ; but he insisted 
upon being again taken on deck, and there he remained, 
lying in his cot and continuing to give orders as to the 
engagement. 

The Breda's immediate opponent was in a short time 
reduced to a mere wreck, having lost her fore-top-mast, 
main yard and mizzen-mast, and having her hull 
completely riddled by shot. Soon after daylight Benbow 
observed the other French ships bearing down to her 
assistance ; and at the same time he had the extreme 
mortification of seeing the Windsor, Pendennis, Greenwich 
and Defiance, of his own squadron, actually bearing up, 
and running away to leeward, in despite of his signal, 
then flying, for "close action." 

The French, observing the dastardly conduct of Ben- 
bow's captains, steered for the Breda, and opened fire 
upon that ship, which shot away some of her spars, and 
otherwise considerably damaged her. They then sent 
fresh hands on board the Breda's late opponent, and 
taking her in tow, made sail and went away, without any 
attempt on the part of the English ships to prevent it. 

One of Benbow's lieutenants, at this time expressing 
his sympathy on the loss of the Admiral's leg, the brave 
man replied, " I am sorry for it too ; but I had rather lost 
them both than have seen this dishonor brought upon 



BENBOW. 169 

the English nation. But do you hear," he continued, 
" if another shot should take me off, behave Hke brave 
men, and fight it out !" 

In spite of his condition and that of his flag-ship, 
Benbow determined still to follow the enemy, so he com- 
municated with his captains, and ordered them to keep 
their stations in the line, "and behave like men." Upon 
this Captain Kirkby, of the Defiance, came on board the 
flag-ship, and told the Admiral " that he had better desist; 
that the French were very strong, and from what was 
passed he might guess he could make nothing of it." 
Upon sending for the captains of the other ships, to his 
great disgust, surprise, and chagrin, he found they coin- 
cided in opinion with Kirkby ; and although at that time 
the English squadron possessed advantages of both 
strength and position, the gallant Benbow had to yield, 
give up the pursuit, and proceed with his squadron to 
Jamaica, where he died of his wounds, on November 4th, 
at the age of fifty-two. 

Before his death a court-martial assembled, to try 
Captain Kirkby on charges of cowardice, disobedience 
of orders and neglect of duty, and these charges having 
been most clearly proven, he was justly sentenced to be 
shot. Captain Constable, of the Windsor, was tried on 
the same charges, but cowardice not being proved, he 
was only cashiered. Wade, of the Greenwich, was tried 
for like offences, which were proven, as well as drunken- 
ness, and he was shot. Wade and Kirkby were both 
shot to death on board the Bristol, at Plymouth, on the 
1 6th of April, 1703. Captain Hudson, of the Pendennis, 
died before his trial came on, and the other two captains 
were cleared by the court-martial. Altogether, this was 
one of the most disgraceful affairs that ever happened in 
the British navy. 



170 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Shortly before his death Benbow received the following 
letter from his late adversary, Admiral Du Casse, which 
speaks for itself: — 

" Carthagena, August 22d, 1702* 
" Sir : I had little hopes on Monday last but to have supped in your 
cabin, but it pleased God to order it otherwise ; I am thankful for it. As 

for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up, for by 

they deserve it. Yours, Du Casse." 

The galleons which poor Benbow was to intercept did 
not finally escape. They succeeded in crossing the 
Atlantic, under convoy of the French fleet, and put into 
Vigo, Admiral Sir George Rooke was off Cadiz, with 
the English fleet, and as soon as he heard of the arrival 
of the galleons and their escort at Vigo, sailed for that 
place. Arriving off that bay he sent in a boat to obtain 
intelligence respecting the force and disposition of the 
French and Spanish ships. 

This beino- determined, it was considered that the whole 

o 

fleet could not act, in the bay, upon the enemy's ships; 
but, on the contrary, that they would only impede each 
other. It was therefore arranged that fifteen English 
and ten Dutch men-of-war (acting with them), and a 
number of fire-ships, should be sent in to destroy the 
Franco-Spanish fleet. The frigates and bomb vessels were 
to follow this detachment, and the largerships were to come 
in afterward, if their services should be required. Some 
troops were to be landed at the same time, and attack a 
fort at the south of the harbor. All the English and 
Dutch flag officers went in the attacking squadron, leav- 
ing their heavy flag- ships outside. Vice- Admiral Hopson 
led the van, followed by the Dutch Vice-Admiral Van 
der Goes. Sir George Rooke himself, Rear-Admiral Sir 
Stafford Fairborne, and the Dutch Admirals Callemburg 
and Wassenaer, commanded the centre ; while Rear- 
Admiral Graydon and Vice-Admiral Fieterson brought 



BENBOW. 171 

Up the rear, with the mortar vessels and fire-ships. Sel- 
dom has it happened that so few vessels should have so 
many officers of high rank in command, but it was done 
to give eclat, and to ensure the success of a difficult 
undertaking. 

On the 1 2 th of October, in the morning, the attacking 
squadron got under way, and made sail for the harbor, 
the entrance to which is very narrow; and was protected 
by a strong boom, composed of masts and yards, secured 
to anchors dropped in mid-channel, and the ends attached 
to two of the largest French ships, the Esperance and 
the Bourbon. 

Within the boom five ships of from sixty to seventy 
guns were moored, with their broadsides bearing upon 
the mouth of the harbor. 

The van division of the attacking fleet had hardly 
reached within gunshot of the batteries when the wind 
died away, and they were obliged to anchor. But a strono- 
breeze soon sprang up, and Vice-Admiral Hopson cut his 
cable, and, crowding all sail, bore down upon the boom. 
The velocity acquired by his ship, the Tqrbay, broke the 
boom, and he at once found himself between the two 
large French ships. Owing to a flaw of wind, the other 
ships could not just then follow, but Admiral Van der Goes 
and the remainder of the squadron soon found a way 
through the passage Hopson had made, and the Bourbon 
was captured. 

In the meantime the Torbay was in great danger, from 
a fire-ship, and owed her preservation to a rather sino-ular 
circumstance. 

The fire-ship was a French merchant ship, which had 
on board a large cargo of snuff, which, in the hurry of 
preparing her for a fire-ship, had not been removed. 
When the fire reached the snuff it was so deadened that 



172 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the Torbay was saved from otherwise certain destruction. 
This ship, however, suffered very severely, as she had no 
less than one hundred and fifteen killed and drowned 
and very many wounded, including her captain. Her 
masts and rigging" were so injured by fire that Admiral 
Hopson had to shift his flag to another ship. 

The English ships. Association and Barfleur, then 
attacked the batteries on both sides of the harbor, with 
great success, and the French Admiral, finding that the 
English land forces, which had attacked at the same time, 
had gained possession of a part of the town of Vigo, and 
that more English ships were coming in, gave orders for 
setting fire to the shipping. Before tliis order could be 
carried into effect, however, a great many ships were 
taken possession of by the English and Dutch. 

There were burned or destroyed seven ships, carrying 
334 R^ns, and over 2000 men, while the English took tbui 
ships of 284 guns and 1800 men, and the Dutch, six ships 
of 342 guns and over 2000 men. This was the French 
loss. 

Three Spanish men-of-war, carrying about 180 guns, 
were destroyed, and of fifteen galleons found there, and 
which had really caused poor Benbow's death and this 
important naval batde, four were taken by the English, 
five by the Dutch, and four destroyed. The gold and 
silver on board this fleet was computed at twenty millions 
of pieces of eight (dollars) ; fourteen millions of which 
had been removed previous to the attack, the remainder 
beino- either taken or sunk in the Qralleons. Merchandise 
of nearly equal value was taken or destroyed, besides 
much plate belonging to individuals. 

The capture and destruction of this fleet was a severe 
blow to the French and Spaniards, and was accomplished 
with a very small loss to the fleet of the Allies, if we 



BENBOW. 



173 



except the Torbay. Hopson was adequately rewarded for 
his gallantry. 

Sir George Rooke, in leaving Vigo Bay, after this 
event, entrusted to Sir Cloudesley Shovel the fitting out 
of the prizes, and the rescuing of treasure from the 
sunken galleons. He also recovered the Dartmouth, an 
English 50-gun ship, which had been captured in the 
previous war; and took out of the French ships which 
were lying aground many very fine brass guns. Every 
ship which he could not bring away was completely 
destroyed. 



:t- 




NORMAN SHIP OF THB I4TH CENTURY, 



174 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



BYNG AND LA GALISSONltRE. A. D. 1756. 




DMIRAL the Hon. John Byng, was the 
fourth son of Viscount Torrington, and 
upon entering the British navy, served 
under his father, who was a very distin- 
guished officer. • 

In 1 745 Byng, then a Rear-Admiral, 
commanded a squadron on the coast of 
Scotland, which prevented suppHes from 
being thrown into that country, from France, and did 
much to defeat the designs of the young Pretender, the 
grandson of James II. 

War between England and France was formally de- 
clared in 1756, but long before that, it had been known 
that the French were equipping an expedition at the port 
of Toulon, which was intended for the capture of Minorca, 
then in possession of the English. The French, to cover 
their real design, grave out that it was intended for a 
descent upon England. Although warned, the Ministry 
of George the Second showed blind incredulity in regard 
to the designs of the French upon Minorca. When their 
eyes were at last opened to the true state of affairs, it was 
too late, and the British Cabinet then acted with foolish 
haste and precipitation. The French had thrown a large 
body of troops into the island and obtained complete 
possession of it, with the exception of Fort St. Pliilip, at 
Port Mahon, which still held out. 



BYNG AND LA GALISSONIERE. 175 

Byng was advanced to the rank of full Admiral, and 
appointed to the command of the expedition intended for 
the relief of Fort Philip, which was blockaded by sea and 
besieged by land. The fleet with which he was provided, 
instead of being of a character fit to obtain command of 
the Mediterranean, consisted of ten sail-of-the-line only, 
and these wretchedly fitted out. Unaccountable negli- 
gence was also observable in manning this fleet ; for, 
being ordered to convey a reinforcement of troops to 
Gibraltar and Minorca, the marines of the ships were 
ordered to be landed, to make room for the troops, and 
thus the proper complement of each ship was much 
reduced. 

The fleet should have sailed early in the year, but 
delay followed delay, and Byng's remonstrances were 
unheeded. The crews of the ships were left incomplete, 
although they might have been filled by drafts from 
vessels lying in home ports. 

The expedition finally sailed from England on the loth 
of April, 1756, having on board the troops alluded to 
above and thirty or forty ofihcers whose regiments were 
in garrison in Minorca. 

Even at this time, from the instructions given to Byng, 
the English ministry did not seem fully to believe that 
Minorca was to be found in possession of the French, as 
Byng was directed to detach a portion of his squadron, 
under Rear- Admiral West, to America, in case he should 
Jearn, on arriving at Gibraltar, that the French fleet had 
passed out of the Straits into the Atlantic. Byng arrived 
at Gibraltar on May 2d, after a stormy passage, and here 
all uncertainty in regard to the motions of the French was 
relieved. A French armament, commanded by M. de la 
Galissoniere, with thirteen ships-of-the-line, and transports 
conveying 1 5,000 troops, had taken full possession of the 



176 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

island, from which Byng's informant, Captain Edgecomb, 
had retired upon their landing. This intelligence the 
Admiral despatched to England, accompanied by remarks 
little likely to win the favor of those who then misdirected 
the naval affairs of England. " Byng's admonitory tone 
irritated their Lordships excessively, and undoubtedly led 
them thus early to take measures to transfer any blame 
from themselves to the officer who could presume to 
complain of their fatal tardiness in then attempting to 
defeat the enemy's designs." 

At daybreak, on May 19th, the English fleet arrived 
in sight of Minorca, and reconnoitred Port Mahon, with 
a view of endeavoring to communicate with General 
Blakeney, in command of Fort St. Philip, and the fleet 
stood in shore. But the appearance of the French fleet 
soon changed the nature of the British Admiral's move- 
ments. Galissoniere's well appointed fleet stood down, 
and towards night were within a few miles, when they 
tacked to obtain the weather gage, and Byng tacked his 
fleet to preserve it. They both continued working to 
windward all night, with light variable winds, and at day- 
break, on May 20th, were not visible to each other, as it 
was very hazy. Soon, however, the French fleet was 
discovered to leeward, but at so oreat a distance that it 
was two in the afternoon before Byng considered it neces- 
sary to form his line of battle. 

The French had twelve sail-of-the-line and five frigates, 
carrying 976 guns and 9500 men, Byng had thirteen 
sail-of-the-line (having been reinforced at Gibraltar), four 
frigates and a sloop-of-war, carrying 948 guns and 7000 
men. 

About three o'clock Byng made signal for his ships to 
approach and engage the enemy in an oblique direction, 
p • as to avoid exposing them to a raking fire as they 



BYNG AND 1.A GALISSONI^RE. 177 

approached the French Hne, which was lying waiting for 
them, with main-top-sails aback. The signal was to bear 
away two points, but Admiral West, who was leading, 
misinterpreted the signal, bore away seven points, and 
brought the French to action in a manner which it would 
have been well for the Commander-in-chief to have fol- 
lowed; for had West's mode of attack been generally 
adopted in the British fleet, it would have saved Byng's 
life as well as some disgrace to the British navy. Byng 
shortly bore up to the support of his Rear-admiral, but the 
T*>trepid, the last ship of the leading division, soon had 
her fore-top-mast shot away, and In an entirely unac- 
countable manner, threw all the ships astern of her into 
confusion. Such a loss, with the wind on her quarter, 
ought not to have occasioned any trouble, as the other 
ships could pass her to leeward. The next ships luffed 
up, to pass her to windward, but, in fact, did not pass her 
at all, remaining on her weather quarter, nor did several 
other of the rear ships. Including Byng's flag-ship, the 
Ramillies, of 90 guns. This ship did not get into action 
at all, although her crew wasted much ammunition by 
firing while completely out of gunshot. In this she was 
imitated by four other heavy ships. The division of 
Admiral West, who was really In action, suffered a good 
deal, and would probably have fallen into the hands of 
the French, if the latter had not, after about three hours" 
cannonading, filled, and made sail out of action. 

After this partial and rather disgraceful affair Byng 
returned to Gibraltar, leaving the English garrison of 
Fort Philip to Its fate. 

The French account of the action was the first to reach 
England. It claimed decided advantage for the French, 
and stated that the English had appeared unwilling to 
fight ; that the engagement was not general ; and that, 



l78 NAVAL BATFLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

on the next morning, to the surprise of the French 
Admiral, the EngHsh fleet had disappeared. Most of 
this was true ; indeed, all of it, except West's gallant 
fight. 

Immense indignation was excited in England by this 
news ; and this excitement was fostered by many in 
authority. 

Without waiting for Byng's despatches, the Admiralty 
appointed Sir Edward Hawke and Admiral Saunders to 
supersede Byng and West, directing Hawke to place 
them both under arrest, and send them home prisoners, 
to England. This feverish and unusual haste had 
the effect upon the public mind of a condemnation of 
Byng. Hawke and Saunders reached Gibraltar on the 
3d of July; and Byng, West, and other officers arrested, 
reached England on the 26th of that month. 

Byng was immediately placed in close confinement, and 
his younger brother, who had hastened to see him, was 
so struck by the abuse of the Admiral in every town he 
passed through that at sight of him he was taken sud- 
denly ill, and died in convulsions. Byng had been burned 
in effigy in all the large towns, before he arrived in 
England ; and his place in the country was mobbed, and 
the house with difficulty saved from destruction. 

The streets and shops were filled with caricatures and 
libelous ballads, abusing the ministry, as well as Byng; 
the ministry being held responsible popularly for not 
having sent an efficient fleet sooner. 

Such public excitement and universal condemnation, 
upon slight knowledge of the facts, was most unusual, and 
most unjust to the Admiral, who had faults enough to 
answer for. 

From Portsmouth he was sent to Greenwich, to await 
trial. Here he was again in close confinement, and an 



BYNG AND LA GALISSONlfeRE. 179 

Impression was sought to be conveyed to the public that 
he desired to make his escape. 

But Byng always manifested a desire to be put upon 
his trial, and seemed, to the last, confident of an honor- 
able acquittal. 

In December he was taken back to Portsmouth, with 
the same parade of guards as when he had been brought 
up. 

The Court-martial to try him assembled at Portsmouth, 
on board the St. George, on the 28th of December, 1756, 
and sat every succeeding day, except Sunday, until the 
27th of the following month. 

The charges against him were seventeen in number, 
but the court ignored most of them, and only imputed 
blame to Byng in that, during the engagement, he did 
not do his utmost to " take, seize and destroy" the ships 
of the French, and to assist such of his chief officers as 
were engaged. 

The prisoner's conduct fell under a part of an Article 
of War providing for such offence ; and the court had 
no other alternative than to pass sentence of death upon 
the unfortunate Admiral, as provided in the Article. 

But as all evidence showed that he did not lack per- 
sonal courage, the court refused to find him guilty of 
" cowardice or disaffection," and earnestly recommended 
'lim to mercy. 

In a letter to the Admiralty, signed by every member 
of the court, they say, " we cannot help laying the distress 
of our minds before your Lordships, in finding ourselves 
under the necessity of condemning a man to death from 
the great severity of the 1 2 th Ardcle of War,/^;-^ of which 
he falls under, and which admits of no mitigation, even 
if the crime should be committed by an error of judg- 
ment ; and therefore, for our own conscience's sake, we 



180 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN 

pray your Lordships, Iii the most earnest manner, to 
recommend him to his Majesty's clemency." 

This the Lords of the Admiralty did not do, but simply 
requested the King to submit the case to the twelve 
judges, as to whether the sentence was a legal one. 
There had been no question of its legality. The judges 
declared the sentence leeal. 

On the very same day they did so, the Lords of the 
Admiralty, at the head of whom was Lord Temple, signed 
a warrant for carrying the sentence into execution, on 
February 28th. 

Admiral Forbes, one of the Board of Admiralty, refused 
to sign it ; and the sentence was generally considered by 
naval officers cruel in the extreme. Admiral West 
demanded a revision of the 12th Article, and declared he 
would resisrn unless it was abrogated. Wm. Pitt char- 
acterized it as unjustly severe, but it was only modified 
twenty-two years afterwards, by inserting, after the word 
death, "or to inflict such other punishment as the nature 
and desfree of the offence shall be found to deserve." 

As Byng was a member of the House of Commons it 
was necessary to expel him before execution, and this led 
to a long and acrimonious debate as to an appeal to the 
throne for mercy. Nothing was done, however. Byng's 
political enemies were too strong for his friends, among 
whom was Mr. Fox, and pardon was no longer hoped 
for. In the meantime the execution had been postponed, 
but was finally ordered for the 14th of March. This 
decision was met by Byng almost with cheerfulness, as 
he was to be relieved from Imprisonment, Indignities and 
protracted anxiety, which had lasted for seven months. 

The sentence was carried into effect on the day ap- 
pointed, on board the Monarch, In Portsmouth Harbor. 
About noon, having taken leave of two friends and a 



BYNG ANb LA GALISSONI^RE. 181 

clergyman who had attended him, Byng walked out of 
the state cabin on to the quarter-deck, where two files of 
marines were drawn up to execute the sentence. He 
advanced with a firm and deliberate stejD, and composed 
and resolute countenance, and wished to suffer with his 
face uncovered ; but his friends represented that perhaps 
his look might intimidate the marines, and prevent them 
from taking proper aim. So he allowed a handkerchief 
to be tied over his eyes, and kneeling on a cushion, 
dropped his handkerchief as a signal for the marines to 
fire. Five balls passed through his body, and he dropped 
dead instandy. The time consumed from the moment 
he left the cabin until his body was in its cofhn was just 
three minutes. 

He left a paper containing a solemn protest against the 
malice and persecution he had encountered, and saying 
that he felt jusdce would uldmately be done his memory. 
He also declared that he had done his duty, to the best of 
his judgment, and that he forgave his enemies. 

Byng had not been a popular ofBcer ; something of a 
martinet, he was cold and haughty In manner, but no one 
had ever accused him of want of personal courage, any 
more than his gallant father. He was opinionated,' and 
self-willed, and it was shown on his trial that, if he had 
listened to the sensible and seamanlike suggesdons of 
Gardner, the captain of his flag-ship, the result of his 
engagement with Galissonlere might have been different, 
and have prevented him from taking refuge under the 
decision of a Councll-of-war pardy composed of the land 
officers, passengers in the fleet, which had much hurt the 
pride of the navy. It was by advice of this Council that 
•he withdrew from Minorca. 

Byng's execution, in spite of his manifest lack of crimi- 
nality, was an opprobrium to the ministers of twoadmlnis- 



182 



NAVAL BATl^LES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



trations, for he was denounced and persecuted as a coward 
and traitor under that of the Duke of Newcastle and 
Lord Anson, while the Duke of Devonshire and Lord 
Temple sanctioned his death. 

The court which tried him expressly acquitted him of 
cowardice and treachery, and complained of the severity 
of the law which awarded the punishment of death on a 
secondary charge, recommending him to mercy. 

The famous Voltaire remarked that the English had 
just shot an Admiral ''pour e?uourager les autresT 




VENETIAN GALLEY OF THE i6tH CENTIKV. 

(A specimen of the Venetian Fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.) 



SIR EDWARU HAWKE A^D CONFLANS. 



183 



SIR EDWARD HAWKE AND CONFLANS. 
A. D. 1759. 




^[T may be of interest to have some account of 
the successor of the ill-fated Admiral Byng, 
in the command of the fleet in the Mediter- 
ranean. 

Sir Edward Hawke, who was born in 
1705, and died in 1781, was the son of a 
barrister. He entered the Navy early, and 
in 1733 had risen to the command of a 
ship. In an engagement with the French, off Toulon, in 
1744, he broke from the line of battle to engage a vessel 
of the enemy ; and, although he caused her to strike her 
colors, he was dismissed from the service for the breach 
of discipline. He was, however, restored almost imme 
diately, by the King's command, and in 1 747 made a 
Rear-Admiral. In October of that year he was sent 
with a squadron to intercept a large fleet of French mer- 
chant vessels bound to the West Indies, under convoy of 
nine men-of-war, and many transports filled with troops. 
Coming up with them off Isle d' Aix, he succeeded, after 
a severe struggle, in capturing six of the men-of-war, but 
darkness coming on most of the convoy escaped. The 
delay of the French expedition, caused by this action, 
contributed very materially to the capture of Cape 
Breton. In consequence of his success, Hawke was 



184 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

made a Knight Commander of the Bath ; and soon aftef 
became Member of ParHament for Bristol. 

In 1748 he was made a Vice-Admiral, and in 1755 an 
Admiral ; and the following year succeeded Admiral 
Byng — but much too late to succor Minorca. 

Hawke had no opportunity of again distinguishing 
himself until 1759, when he was in command of the 
squadron blockading Brest. Having been driven by 
stress of weather into Torbay, he sailed from thence to 
resume his station off Brest, on the 14th of November, 
and on the same day Admiral Conflans put to sea with a 
strong fleet — though not equal to that of Hawke. 

The latter conjectured that the French had gone to 
Ouiberon Bay, to attack an English squadron cruising 
there, and he pressed sail in that direction. Owing to 
strong head winds it was the 20th before he arrived off 
Belleisle. When that island bore about east, the 
French fleet was discovered. The weather was thick, 
and it was blowing a very fresh gale of wind from the 
northwest, with a heavy sea. 

Hawke made all haste to get his ships together, 
and then sent one of them in to make the land, and ascer- 
tain the exact position. Soon after the weather cleared, 
and the French fleet was seen, crowding sail to get away; 
and Hawke ordered a part of his fleet in chase, and 
followed with the rest. The fresh gale rendered it im- 
possible for either fleet to carry much sail. Early in the 
afternoon the leading English ships caught up with the 
French rear, and a very animated action ensued. The 
French Rear-Admiral, Verger, in the Formidable, 80, 
was set upon by five or six ships at once, and was obliged 
to surrender, after having had two hundred men killed. 
The English Magnanime, 74, Captain Lord Howe, soon 
became closely engaged with the Thesee, 74 ; but the 



SIR EDWARD HAWKE AND CONFLANS. 185 

latter being disabled, dropped astern, and was engaged 
by the Torbay, while Howe pushed on in search of a 
fresh opponent, which he found in the Heros, 74. 
Captain de Kersaint, of the Thesee, imagining from a 
slight lull in the wind that he could fight his lower 
deck guns, unfortunately tried the hazardous experiment, 
and commenced firing at the Torbay. Captain 
Keppel, of the latter ship, followed de Kersaint's 
example, and narrowly escaped the same fate. 
A heavy squall struck the Thesee, and she filled 
and went down ; and out of her crew of 800 men only 
twenty were saved by the British boats. The Torbay 
shipped a great deal of water, but, by great exertions, 
was preserved. The Superbe, a French 70-gun ship, 
also capsized and sank, from the same cause. At 5 
P.M. the Heros surrendered to Howe, and anchored, but 
the sea ran so high that they could not lower a boat to 
take possession of her. The night came on very dark, 
and exceedingly tempestuous, and, being among the 
rocks and shoals of a treacherous coast, and without 
pilots, it was considered prudent to discontinue the 
chase, and anchor. During the night the Resolution, 74, 
drove on shore, and was totally wrecked, with the loss of 
most of her crew. 

At daybreak of the next day the Heros was discovered 
aground, and the flag-ship of Conflans, the Soleil Royal, 
dismasted. Shordy after being discovered she cut her' 
cables, and also went on shore. The Essex, a 64, was 
ordered to stand in and destroy her, but that ship got on 
a sand bank and was wrecked; her crew, however, being 
saved. The two French vessels which were on shore 
were finally set on fire, and destroyed. Seven or eight 
others, by their knowledge of the coast, had got to the 
mputh of the river Vilaine, and by means of taking out 



186 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



their guns, crossed the bar, and reached a place of 
security. 

In effecting all this damage and loss upon the enemy's 
fleet, the loss in killed and wounded among the English 
must have been severe. But in those days they were not 
very particular in reporting such things. For his success, 
under exceptional difficulties and dangers. Sir Edward 
Hawke received the thanks of Parliament, and a pension 
of two thousand pounds per annum. 

In 1765 he was appointed Vice-Admiral of Great 
Britain, and First Lord of the Admiralty; and in 1776 
was raised to the peerage, under the tide of Baron Hawke 
of Towton. 










liUCF.NTORO. 

(Barge of the Doges, used annually, on Ascension Day, in the Ceremony of " Venice Wedding 
the Adriatic") 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



18? 



DE GRASSE AND RODNEY. A. D. 1782. 




RANCIS JOSEPH PAUL, Count de Grasse, 
Marquis de Grasse-Tilly, Count de Bar, 
and Lieutenant-General of the marine forces 
of France, was born in i 723, of a noble Pro- 
vencal family, and was destined from child- 
hood to enter the order of Malta. At eleven 
years of age he went to sea in the galleys 
of the Order, and made several cruises in 
the Levant. In i 740 the young sailor entered the French 
naval service, and in 1747 was serving in the frigate 
Emerald, in the squadron of La Jonquiere, which was 
convoying to Pondichery twenty-five ships of the French 
East India Company. The squadron, which consisted of 
six ships-of-the-line and six frigates, was met off Cape Fin- 
isterre, by a fleet of seventeen English ships, commanded 
by Anson. After a vigorous resistance most of the 
F'rench ships were captured, and De Grasse was taken a 
prisoner to England, where he remained two years. 

Upon his return home he was promoted, and continued 
to cruise in various parts of the world, and was especially 
employed in surveying the Guinea coast. 

In January, 1762, he served in the West Indies, as 
captain of a line-of-batde ship, and soon after his return 
was made a Chevalier of St. Louis, and served In the 
French fleet which bombarded Sallee. In 1772 he 
commanded a ship in the squadron of the Count d'OrvIl- 
liers, and about the time of the breaking out of the 



188 DE GRASSE AND RODNEY. 

American Revolution was present at a naval battle off 
Ushant, in which he particularly disting-uished himself. 

In 1779 he went out to the West Indies, in command 
of four line-of-battle ships and seven frigates, to join the 
fleet of Count d'Estaing, off Martinique, and participated 
in the action of July 6th, between d'Estaing and Admiral 
Byron. The following year he took part, in the same 
latitude, in the three battles between the Count de 
Guichen and Admiral Rodney, after the last of which he 
returned to France. 

At the commencement of 17S1 he was sent out with an 
important convoy, to Martinique, He sailed from Brest 
on March 24th, with twenty-three ships-of-the-line, carry- 
ing troops, and having on board a very large sum of 
money, and a quantity of arms and ammunition, all 
intended for the succor of the young and struggling 
Republic of the United States. 

On the twenty-eighth of April De Grasse arrived off 
Port Royal, Martinique, where he found eighteen English 
line-of-battle ships, detached from Adniiral Sir George 
Rodney's fleet, and under the command of Rear-Admiral 
Sir Samuel Hood, who was there to oppose the landing 
of the convoy at Martinique. 

Hood, recognizing the superior force of De Grasse, 
contented himself with distant firing, and did not attempt 
to engage; De Grasse chased him off to the westward of 
Saint Lucie, and then returned to Martinique Road with 
his convoy. 

Soon after he left there, to attack, in concert with the 
Marquis de Bouille, the English island of Tobago; and, 
on June ist obtained possession of the chief town of that 
island. De Grasse then sailed for San Domingo, took on 
board three thousand soldiers; touched at Havana, where 
he effected a loan ; and then came through the Bahama 



NAVAL BATfLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. ^^^ 

Channel, a route not then used by large ships, to the 
American coast; which he followed up until he entered 
the Chesapeake. Here he, with his fleet, and in concert 
with General Washington, made the well known disposi- 
tions which led to the surrender of Cornwallis, at York- 
town. 

On September 5th, hearing of the approach of the 
English fleet, De Grasse left his anchorage in Lynnhaven 
Bay, just inside of Cape Henry, and put to sea. Bou- 
gainville commanded the van division of his fleet, in the 
Auguste, 80; De Grasse himself the centre, in the Ville 
de Paris, 104; and the Chevalier de Monteil the rear 
division, in the Languedoc, 80. 

The English fleet, of twenty line-of-battle ships, was 
commanded by Admirals Graves, Hood and Drake. 

A partial engagement followed, which was mostly 
confined to the van divisions of the two fleets, and which 
continued about two hours and a half Four or five days 
were consumed in manoeuvres, De Grasse not being able 
to bring Graves to a general engagement, and finally the 
French fleet returned to their anchorage in Lynnhaven 
Bay; having, on the return, captured two English frigates. 

To De Grasse and his fleet certainly belong a consid- 
erable share in the glory of the surrender of Cornwallis' 
army, and of the consequent firm establishment of Ameri- 
can independence. In recognition of this. Congress offered 
De Grasse four pieces of cannon, taken at Yorktown; of 
which the French King authorized his acceptance; and 
they were placed in his Chateau of Tilly, with a suitable 
inscription engraved upon them. 

Returning with his fleet to Martinique, he made several 
expeditions against the English islands; and had also 
several partial engagements with Sir Samuel Hood, in 
none of which he was very successful. 



190 DE GRASSE AND RODNEY. 

Some months elapsed in this manner, and the month 
of April, I 782, arrived. De Grasse was on his way to join 
a Spanish squadron, on the coast of San Domingo, when 
he fell in with the English fleet again, near Dominica. 

In consequence of the junction of Rodney and Hood, 
the English now numbered thirty-six ships-of-the-linc, 
fourteen frigates, three sloops-of-war, and two fire-ships. 
Admiral Rodney had his flag in the Formidable, 90; Sif 
Samuel Hood was in the Barfleur, 90; and Rear-Admira* 
Drake was in the Princessa, 70. 

De Grasse at this time had about thirty line-of-battle 
ships, and a proportion of frigates, but was hampered by a 
convoy of about one hundred and fifty merchant vessels. 

Sir Samuel Hood's division was in the van of the 
English fleet, which, having got the sea breeze early, 
stretched to the northward in chase, while the centre and 
rear were still becalmed. The French, on the starboard 
tack, observing the isolated position of the English van, 
bore up, in hopes of cutting them off De Grasse, in 
this evolution, executed a novel and ingenious plan, which 
was done full justice to by his adversaries. 

The British van was, about 10 a.m., hove to, to enable 
their centre and rear to close. In consequence, the 
French ships, by keeping under way, were enabled to 
manoeuvre as they chose. Hood kept his division well 
closed up, however, opposing vigorous and well directed 
broadsides to his enemy's attacks. He thus resisted De 
Grasse until the sea breeze reached the rest of the English 
fleet, when the French Admiral tacked and stood inshore 
to rejoin his fleet and convoy. When the sea breeze 
reached them the English were to windward; but the 
sailing of the French ships was so superior that they could 
not come up with them. This was the end of the opera- 
tion, except some distant and ineffectual cannonading. 



fiAVAh BATTLES, Axn^iENT AND MODERN. 191 

The two succeeding days were occupied in chasing ; 
but it was evident that only a change in the wind, or some 
accident, would enable Admiral Rodney to force an 
engagement; so superior were the French in sailing- 
qualities. 

On the 1 2th of April the French were again seen, near 
the Saintes, and one of their ships, having lost her fore- 
mast and bowsprit, was seen, in tow of a frigate, standing 
in for Guadaloupe. Rodney made signal for four ships 
to chase, which being perceived, De Grasse bore up, with 
his fleet, to protect them. But finding that by persevering 
in this course, he shr>ald give the British the weather- 
gage, he gave up his intention, and formed line on the 
port tack. Rodney, perceiving an engagement inevit- 
able, recalled his chasing ships, and made signal to form 
line of battle on the starboard tack, Rear-Admiral 
Drake's division leading. The two fleets gradually neared 
each other, the French only just crossing the bows of the 
English, to windward. 

At 8 A.M. the leading English ship, the Marlborough, 
74, opened the action, firing upon the French centre and 
rear. Sir George Rodney then made signal for "close 
action," and Drake's division was at once closely engaged. 
The rest of the English were nearly becalmed, as were 
the French soon after. The wind then hauled to the 
southward, and while this completely disarranged the 
French line, it did not so much affect the English, and 
Rodney, perceiving an opening in his adversaries' line, 
kept a close luff and passed through it, cutting off their 
rear. It Is not thought that Rodney deliberately planned 
this, but it was the first time that the stiff notion of pre- 
ser\dnof a line-of-battle at all hazards, and when advan- 
tage could be gained from departing from it, was broken 
through. 



102 r>E GRASSE AND RODNEY. 

This movement of Rodney's was the main cause of the 
loss of the battle to the French; and although many 
assert that the preservation of his line would have 
rendered the victory more decisive, yet when the sailing 
quallues of the two fleets are taken into account, it la 
very doubtful. By pursuing the plan he did, Rodney 
separated his ship, and the six ships which followed him, 
from the van, part of the centre, and the rear. It Is said 
that his manoeuvre was Inadvertently performed; but 
this could hardly be, for the Formidable luffed out of line, 
which could not have been done Inadvertently and without 
distinct intention, and It is, therefore, not fair to Impute 
the movement, and the consequent victory, to mere acci- 
dent. A French writer distincdy says that "Rodney's 
able manoeuvres completely got the better of De Grasse." 
With the fine aii.l well trained fleet which the French 
Admiral commanded, itis probable that no great advantage 
would have accrued to the English under the old plan 
of fleet fighdng. The advocates of the theory that 
Rodney's movement was an accident have some founda- 
tion for what they allege, howevej-, In that Sir Alan 
Gardner, who commanded the Duke, 90, Rodney's second 
astern, was heard to say, "the wind was very light at 
the commencement of the action, but as It advanced it 
fell calm; my ship dropped through the enemy's line, and 
I, thinking I was wrong, and out of my stadon, did every- 
thing I could' to get back again, but was unable to do 
so." The state of the wind prevented Hood from 
following Rodney through the French fleet, and, by con- 
tinuing his course he soon became opposed to the French 
van, separated from the centre, and here a warm and 
close action took place, and continued, until at length the 
smoke and concussion of the firing, which had also 
"killed" the wind, so completely enshrouded the ships 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 193 

of both fleets, that a cessation of firing was necessary. 
About noon the smoke cleared away, by which time the 
French ships, to effect a rerjunction, all bore up, and were 
seen to leeward, retreating, and in considerable disorder, 
and a general chase succeeded. The English victory was 
complete, if not overwhelming. Five French line-of-batde 
ships were taken or destroyed; the Glorieux, Caesar, 
Hector, Ardent, and the flag-ship Ville de Paris. The 
English accounts say that three of their line-of-battle ships 
concentrated upon the Ville de Paris ; the French accounts 
say five. Certain it is that she made a gallant fight for 
hours after the battle was decided; and when, at last, she 
hauled down her flag, she had one hundred and twenty 
killed, and almost all the rest more or less wounded. 
Count De Grasse himself, although he had not left the deck, 
escaped unscratched, as did a very few others on board. 

The Ville de Paris was considered the finest ship afloat 
at that time. She measured 2300 tons, and had been 
presented to Louis XV, by the City of Paris, at the close 
of the preceding war. She is said to have had a large 
amount of specie on board. She was towed to Jamaica 
by her captors, but was so damaged that she foundered 
in an attempt to take her to England; as did the Hector 
and Glorieux. The Caesar, a very fine ship, was burned 
on the night following her capture, and four hundred of 
her crew, as well as an English lieutenant and fifty 
seamen who were in charge, lost their lives. In fact, not 
one of the French ships captured in this battle ever 
reached Eno^land. 

The victory caused great exultation In England. Sir 
George Rodney and Sir Samuel Hood were both made 
peers, and Rear-Admiral Drake and Commodore Aflleck 
made baronets. Public monuments were erected in West- 
minster Abbey to those captains who were killed. 



194 DE GRASSK AND R07JNEY. 

The French loss was very heavy, some reported it as 
3000, in killed and wounded. The English loss awis 
reported as 253 killed and 816 wounded. 

As for the French ships, twenty-four of which escaped, 
they were at last collected, in a very damaged condition, 
under the Marquis de Vaudrueil, but they were obliged 
to abandon the West India islands. 

De Grasse was sent a prisoner to England, where he 
was most courteously received by the King and court 
circles. Indeed, he was accused of enjoying his popularity 
too much, and of lowering the dignity which became a 
prisoner of his rank. He was instrumental in forwarding 
the negotiations which led to the peace between England 
and the United States, which was concluded at Versailles, 
in 1783. 

Upon his return from captivity De Grasse was tried 
for the loss of the batde of April i 2th, and honorably 
acquitted; but he was never again employed, and died in 
Paris, at the age of sixty-five. 

The opinion concerning De Grasse, both in France and 
England, was that he had brilliant courage, but a lack of 
judgment. 

Sir George Bridge Rodney, the victor in the batde of 
April 1 2th, 1 782, was born in 1 71 7, and survived the battle 
ten years. George the First was his godfather, and with 
such patronage his advancement in the Navy was rapid. 

In 1 759 he commanded at the bombardment of Havre ; 
and two years afterwards he captured the French West 
India Islands of Saint Lucie, Saint Pierre, Grenada and 
Saint Vincent. He was made an Admiral in 1771 ; but. 
In consequence of debts contracted in an election for 
Parliament, he was oblieed to take refuse on the Cond- 
nent. While in France he was, one day, at the table of 
the Marshal de Biron. and was holding forth upon his 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 195 

hopes of one day defeating the combined French and 
Spanish fleets. Biron jokingly offered to pay his debts, 
so as to enable him to put his threat into execution. 

Rodney, whose bravery and ability were equal to his 
arrogance and self-conceit, justified what he had said in 
less than three years, for, in February, i 780, he utterly 
defeated Don Juan de Langara, and a Spanish fleet, off 
Cape St. Vincent, being the first naval battle of that 
name; and in April, 1782, he defeated De Grasse. He 
received the thanks of Parliament, the title of Baron, and 
a pension of two thousand pounds, with reversion to his 
heirs. 



U)RD HOWE ANU THE FRENCH FLBEl'. 



19? 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 
JUNE 1ST. A. D. 1794. 




'HIS naval battle is memorable as the firsti 
of any importance in the long series which 
followed, in the wars between the English 
and the French Revolutionary government 
the Republic, and the Empire. 

Lord Howe, the English Commander-in 
chief, had had experience in the last war of 
the English with France, and on our own 
coast during the Revolutionary war. But some of his 
captains and most of his junior officers had no experience 
of war, and this, perhaps, is one of the great reasons why 
the batde of the first of June did not have the magnificent 
results afterwards obtained by the British ships against 
the French. 

At the time of the batde in question Howe was an old 
man ; and the fatigues and anxieties of the week preced- 
ing- the action must have told upon him. 

In his youth and middle age he had been celebrated 
for his endurance and coolness in emergency, but at 
sixty-nine he was not able to bear the strain of hard and 
continuous service so well, and so the results of his 
great acdon were incomplete as compared with those 
of Nelson. 

To illustrate Howe's natural disposition, we may relate 
one or two well-known anecdotes. 

13 A 



198 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

While captain of the Princess Amelia, of 80 guns, the 
flag-ship of the Duke of York, the lieutenant of the watch 
suddenly appeared at his bedside, at night, and called out, 
in great agitation, "j\Iy Lord! the ship Is on fire, close to 
the magazine ; but don't be frightened, my Lord, it will 
soon be g-ot under." 

"Frightened, Sir; what do you mean by that? I never 
Vv-as frightened in my life!" and looking the lieutenant 
kill In the face, he said to him, coolly, "Pray, Sir, how does 
a man feel when he is frlo^htened? I need not ask how he 
looks. I will be with you Immediately; but take care that 
His Royal Highness is not disturbed." 

At another time, when Captain of the Magnanlme, he 
was oblieed to anchor in a oale of wind, on a lee shore. 
In the course of the night the wind increased, almost to a 
hurricane, but Howe, having two anchors ahead, went 
down to his cabin, and took up a book. Presently the 
lieutenant of the watch came below hurriedly, and, with a 
woful face, said, " I am sorry to Inform you, my Lord, 
that the anchors are coming home." "They are much 
in the right," replied Howe, coolly, " I don't know who 
would stay abroad on such a night as this." 

But to return to the great batde of the first of June: — 

In the latter part of May, 1793, Lord Howe hoisted his 
flao- on board the Oueen Charlotte, at Portsmouth. She 
was a ship of 100 guns. His principal Instrucdons were 
in regard to protecdng the English trade from the French 
privateers. 

By the middle of July he put to sea, and steered down 
Channel with twenty-three sail-of-the-line, in two divisions, 
under Vice-admiral Graves and Sir Alexander Hood. 
For several months the doings of this fleet might be 
comprised In saying that they had occasional glimpses of 
squadrons and flee's of the French, varied by gales of 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 199 

wind, which invariably did much damage, and necessitated 
the putting in at some western port of England. The 
fleet was so continually in trouble, indeed, and so much 
in port, that great dissatisfaction was felt. 

Howe expressed himself as decidedly against keepino- 
a heavy fleet of line-of-batde ships at sea, at the mouth 
of the Channel, and in the Bay of Biscay, during the 
autumnal and winter gales. Nor did he believe in the 
blockade of Brest, at that season, althoueh it was his 
enemy's great naval port. He said that " to keep a fleet 
at sea, watching an enemy's fleet lying snugly in port, 
and ready to start the moment the weather has driven 
the blockading squadron from the coast, and probably 
disabled many of them, appeared to be a mistaken system, 
and ruinous in the extreme to the ships themselves, 
hateful to the seamen, and extravagant beyond measure 
In expense." 

In fact, long periods of this kind had so much weakened 
the larger English ships that private yards had to be 
employed for repairs, as well as building new ships. 

What Lord Howe recommended was, keeping a fleet 
at St. Helen's Roadstead, near Splthead, all ready for sea, 
while a few frigates watched the enemy's movements. 
Another fleet he recommended to lie at Torbay, where, 
in event of the enemy's putting to sea from Brest, the 
contending fleets might meet on equal terms, being each 
fresh from port; while a blockading fleet, keeping the 
sea for months, and exposed to all kinds of weather, was 
not on a par with one fresh from the dockyards ; and 
still less In a condition to follow them abroad. "The 
public does not care for such considerations, but judge by 
the results, and require a batde and a victory ; or else 
blame must rest somewhere, most appropriately on the 
shoulders of the commander-in-chief." 



200 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

There was plenty of this fault-finding in England, in 
1793. The French fleet was known to be often at sea — 
had been seen by Lord Howe — and yet no battle had 
been fought, no captures made. 

The caricaturists and the press were very hard upon 
Lord Howe, but he was not a man to be very much 
affected by sarcasm or abuse. He wished to save wear 
and tear of ships and men, and to improve the discipline 
and health of his fleet. The laurels earned by the vet- 
eran sailor were too deeply planted to be plucked away 
by scribblers, and Mr. Pitt and Lord Grenville would not 
listen to Howe's retirement, which he urged, on account 
of infirmities and advancing age. 

The sequel proved that they were right. 

In the middle of April, 1794, the fleet, having been 
repaired, assembled at St. Helen's, Howe had thirty-two 
sail-of-the-line, six of which, with some frigates, were 
detailed to convoy in and out of the Channel the East 
India Company's ships and the West Indian traders. On 
May 2d the fleet put to sea, and cruised, generally in bad 
weather, off Ushant, and on the 19th discovered that the 
French fleet had sailed from Brest. They were twenty- 
four sail-of-the-line and ten frigates, and had come out 
to give protection to an immensely large and valuable 
homeward-bound convoy of French merchant ships, from 
North America and the West Indies. 

On the 25th, after a fruitless search for the enemy, two 
French corvettes steered into the midst of the English 
fleet, mistaking it for their own. They were both taken. 
Not to diminish the efficiency of his ships by sending 
prize crews, Howe destroyed them, as well as several 
other prizes and recaptures. He then continued his 
search for the main French fleet. 

The following is, In the main, an extract from the pri- 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 201 

vate journal of Lord Howe himself. It Is to be premised 
that, on the morning of May 28th, with a fresh southwest 
wind and a rough sea, he had sighted a portion of the 
French fleet, bearing southeast. 

" May 28th. They (the French) were some hours 
before they had. formed their line, on the larboard tack, 
which they proceeded to do wdiile three or four leagues 
distant; the British fleet being in the order of sailing, 
with the advanced squadron, under Rear Admiral Paisley, 
on the weather quarter of the body of the fleet ; the whole 
under as much sail as the weather would safely permit, 
standino- to the eastward, by the wind. At 1 1 a.m. tacked 
to approach nearer the enemy, the centre of their fleet 
then in the S. S. W. 

"At 4 In the evening tacked back to the eastward. Soon 
after 5 o'clock, the Bellerophon arriving up abreast of the 
rear ship of the enemy, the Revolutionnaire, of three 
decks, though too far distant for close action, began to fire 
upon her, and received the fire from that ship, and some 
others ahead of her. But observing that the other ships 
of 4he advance squadron, the Russell, Marlborough and 
Thunderer, though gained more to windward of the 
enemy, had shortened sail, and the two last backed their 
main-top-sails, and firing at the enemy from a distance 
far too considerable, their particular signals were made 
to attack the enemy's rear ; and soon after the general 
signal to the same effect. The Bellerophon, having her 
main-top-sail lowered and aback, and making signal to 
denote that her main-top-mast was disabled, the other 
ships also, of the advanced squadron, still keeping astern, 
with litde sail set, and firing far distant, the general signal 
was made for assisting ships in action ; and a few minutes 
after the particular signals for the Russell and Marl- 
borough for the same purpose ; enforcing It by a gun, to 



202 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

obtain the notice that was not duly shown to the former 
signal." In other words these ships were not behaving 
very handsomely, and the beginning of their collision 
with the French did not auQfur well for success, 

"The three aforementioned ships thereupon made sail 
to the eastward, the Marlborough havirig been observed 
to have set her courses, and the Leviathan pressing for- 
ward, commenced action with the rear ship of the enemy, 
to the relief of the Bellerophon. 

"As the day was closing in, the Audacious was seen to 
advance to the attack of the Revolutionnaire, in apparent 
very close action. The body of the enemy's fleet keep- 
ing on in order of battle, and being approached to about 
three miles distance from them; their force consistincr of 
twenty-six ships-of-the-line, besides frigates, it was judged 
requisite to form the British fleet in such order of battle 
ahead as the ships by their accidental situation at the 
time could be so arranged, ahead and astern of the 
Charlotte, to be in suitable disposition for any service 
which might occur in the night; nothing more of the 
action being distinguishable, and the firing ceasing at 
dark. Information was given, by the Marlborough and 
Niger, that the sternmost ship of the enemy was beaten 
out of their line by, and supposed to have struck to, the 
Audacious." 

The crews of the Audacious and Russell declare that 
the Revolutionnaire struck ; but whether she did or 
not, she was clearly beaten and defenceless, as she only 
answered three guns from her one hundred and twenty 
to the last broadside of the Audacious. The Revolution- 
naire's loss was nearly 400 men. The Audacious was 
so crippled that she could hardly keep clear of the 
French fleet, but after an engagement with a frigate and 
a corvette made her way to Plymouth. The Revolution- 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 203 

naire afterwards lost her masts, but was towed Into 
Rochefort. 

Thus ended the first day's collision. 

For the next two days indecisive manoeuvres took 
place. There was a very fresh breeze, heavy seas, fogs, 
and various other reasons why no general action could be 
brought on. During this time Lord Howe passed through 
the French fleet in his flag-ship, but as only one or two 
of his ships were able to follow him no general action 
occurred. One or two of the ships of each fleet lost masts 
in the. heavy sea, and between the 29th and 31st of May 
Rear-Admlral Nielly joined Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse, 
with five line-of-battle ships, and then left the French fleet. 
This left twenty-six line-of-battle ships to the French; 
many of these had very revolutionary names, such as 
Tyrannicide, Convention, Trente et un Mai, Montague, 
Jacobin, Republicalne, etc., and many were very large 
ships, one being of 1 20 guns, and two of 1 10, 

During these days Lord Howe was far from satisfied 
with the behavior of some of his captains, and we find in 
his journal the following: "The centre of the British fleet 
drawing fast up with the van, the signal was repeatedly 
made for the Csesar, leading the line, and then under treble 
reefed topsails and foresail, to make more sail;" and this 
ship, by her conduct, threw out the whole line, and inter- 
fered materially with the operations of the day. 

Again Lord Howe says, " the ships of the fleet (called 
up by signals, and appointed to fall Into line, ahead and 
astern of the flag-ship, as most convenient) came forward 
to meet her, which had stood toward them, as the enemy 
approached. When arrived they came up so crowded 
together that they afforded an opportunity for the enemy 
to have fired upon them with great advantage. But they 
' (the French)' having covered their disabled ships, and 



204 NAVAL /JATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

giving a distant fire as they passed to leeward of our 
fleet, wore again to the westward ; and the EngHsh 
fleet, preserving the weather gage, kept on after them," 
" Most of the time the Oueen Cliarlotte was enofagfed the 
sea was so rough that much water was taken in at the 
lower deck ports, and the pumps were constantly at 
work." 

Lord Howe goes on to say, " soon after noon on the 
3 1 St, the fog clearing off, the enemy were seen to leeward, 
forming again in order of battle." " But before our fleet 
could get abreast of them the day was too far advanced 
for bringing them promptly to action. It was, therefore, 
deemed expedient to keep the wind, with frigates of 
observation to notify any change in the enemy's motions 
durine the ensuinof nio^ht." 

It is hard in these days to realize the slow and labori- 
ous movements of a fleet of the old line-of-battle ships. 
And it is also curious to observe the adherence to old 
ideas in regard to battle, as well as the lukewarmness, 
and want of conduct and seamanship, which amounted 
to bad behavior, and which characterized some of the 
captains of Howe's fleet. As we shall see, further on, 
only one captain was brought to a court-martial, and he 
was only lightly punished. Had the action of the first 
of June been less successful, it is probable that more would 
have been tried for misconduct, and disobedience of 
orders. But success condones many offences. A few 
years after this a British fleet of the force of Howe's 
would have dashed at any French fleet, without regard to 
the time of day, and not risked losing the enemy in the 
night, or the chance of his changing his mind about 
fighting. 

But to come to the decisive day, June ist. It is 
impossible to follow Lord Howe's journal further, for, at 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 



205 



the risk of being irreverent, we must observe that the 
gallant and noble Lord's English is almost as much 
involved as that of those other English seamen, Captains 
Cuttle and Bunsby. 

The French fleet being six miles to leeward on the 
morning of June ist, Howe made signal that he intended 
to attack the enemy's centre, and engage to leeward. 
The British fleet filled away for the French, each ship 
being directed to steer for and engage her proper oppo- 
nent. 

Both fleets were under single-reefed topsails, the 
French backing and filling, to preserve their stations in 
their line, which extended from east to west. The wind 
was very fresh, at south by west, and with the signal to 
enc'-ao-e flying. Lord Howe closed his signal book, as the 
matter was so clear that it was impossible for any captain 
to mistake his duty. 

The French first opened fire. The flag-ship of Lord 
Howe, setting a noble example, steered for the Mon- 
tagne, 120, receiving a heavy fire from other ships in 
reaching her. The ship passed close under the French 
flag-ship's stern, giving her a tremendous raking broad- 
side. She was so close that the French ensign brushed 
the Queen Charlotte's rigging. In a moment she was 
attacked by the Jacobin, but succeeded in giving her a 
like raking. The Queen Charlotte lost her fore-top-mast, 
but, in spite of this, stuck to the Montagne, and killed 
and wounded 300 on board of her. At last the Mon- 
tagne hauled out of the line, and several other French 
vessels followed her, when Howe made signal for a 
general chase. 

It would be tedious to follow the action of the particu- 
lar ships up to this period of the battle. Suffice it to say 
that the fire was most concentrated and deadly on boti 



20(3 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

sides. Some of the French ships fought most despe- 
rately. Among- others, the Vengeur lost her masts, and 
lay rolling her lower deck ports in the water, many of 
which had been torn off or shot away by the English ship 
Brunswick. The Vengeur soon filled with water, and 
although fast sinking, her colors -were kept flying. By 
great exertions of some of the English vessels, some 400 
of her crew were rescued, but many sank with the ship. 
Among the survivors were the brave French Captain, 
Renaudin, and his son, only twelve years old. Being 
taken off to different ships, each believed the other to 
have perished. To their great joy, they met again in 
Portsmouth. 

Many of the French ships which struck were enabled 
to make off during the succeeding night, as the English 
had not been able to take possession of them. But they 
secured the 80-gun ships. Sans Pareil and Juste, and 74- 
gun ships, America, Impetueux, Achille, and Northumber- 
land, and the Vengeur, 74, was sunk. 

The British loss in the battle was 11 40, in killed and 
wounded. The French loss is not exactly known, but 
was much greater. 

The damaije to the masts and rio-o-ino- of the British 
ships generally was so considerable that the 2d and 3d 
of the month were passed in securing the injured masts, 
fixing jury-masts when required, and removing the pris- 
oners, and taking the six prizes in tow. 

Fine weather prevailed, anci light westerly breezes, and 
the fleet arrived in the Channel on the i ith ; part of it, 
under Rear- Admiral Graves, going to Plymouth, and the 
rest, led by the Queen Charlotte, anchoring at Spithead 
on the 13th of June. 

It had been many a year since Portsmouth had seen 
the arrival of a victorious fleet, with six of the enemy's 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 207 

line-of-battle ships in tow. Crowds flocked to witness it, 
from all parts of England; and to see the landing of the 
2300 prisoners. 

Rear- Admirals Paisley and Bowyer each lost a leg, and 
Admiral Graves was very badly wounded in the arm, 
while three English captains were killed. There was no 
doubt about the^behavior of these officers, but the report 
of Lord Howe omitted the mention of many captains, 
most of whom thought themselves aggrieved, and made 
a great commotion. The fact appears to be that more 
were delinquent in the previous operations than on the 
day of the great battle; and this, in many cases, was no 
doubt due to want of seamanship and experience. 

The Caesar being especially mentioned in an unfavor> 
able light, her captain, Molloy, demanded a court-martial, 
which the Admiralty was bound to grant. Lord Howe 
was much annoyed at this, and did all that he could to 
prevent captain Molloy from persisting, but without avail. 
Howe, like all others who had fought a successful action, 
did not want the scandals and delinquencies of his com- 
mand exposed to the public gaze. After a long trial, 
Molloy was found delinquent, and was dismissed from the 
command of his ship. 

As regards the conduct of the other captains, it is 
certain that Howe's orders as to passing through the 
French line and engaging to leeward were not carried into 
effect by a very large portion of his fleet. 

In some this was caused by the bad sailing of the ships 
and by the very compact form in which the French formed 
their line, so that only five captains of the British fleet 
had the nerve to let their ships "make their own way," 
as the Queen Charlotte did, through the French line. 
Signals were misunderstood, or not seen, in the smoke 
and confusion, and Howe made, at last, a discretionary 



208 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

signal, which left each captain to engage his opponent to 
windward or to leeward, as circumstances mio-ht arise 

Howe's fame as a naval commander will not bear com- 
parison with some others who were to immortalize them- 
selves in the lonor wars which his acdon inauo-u rated 
But we must remember that this was the first oreat naval 
batde of that eventful period, and that it had an immense 
influence upon the French; as well as in formino- the 

o 

Bridsh Navy for their future glorious achievements. Had 
the acdon of June ist been the last of that series of ereat 
actions, instead of the first, it is probable that few ships 
of the French fleet would have escaped. Lord Howe, 
although not making much complaint of his want of 
efficient support, nevertheless felt the defecdon of some 
of his captains strongly. 

In the year i 799, not many months before his death, 
he wrote, concerning Nelson's splendid victory at the 
Nile, "I will only say, on the splendid achievement of 
Nelson, that one of the most remarkable features in the 
transacdon consists in the eminendy distinguished con- 
duct of eai-fi of the captains of the squadron." Perhaps it 
never before happened that evc/y captain had equal 
opportunity to distinguish himself in the same manner, or 
took equal advantage of it. 

There is one point upon which Lord Howe's conduct 
has been censured. It is said that he gave way to the 
opinion of Sir Roger Curds, his Captain of the Fleet, 
who advised him not to pursue the five dismasted French 
ships which went off unmolested, under sails set on the 
stumps of their masts, and which succeeded in joining the 
rest of their vessels. 

The prevailing opinion in the English fleet certainly 
was that these ships of the enemy were suffered to escape, 
when they might have been captured with ease. That 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 20!) 

they were not captured was the fault of having a Flag 
Officer at sea who was too old to command, and who had 
a Fleet Captain who was not enterprising. 

But the victory was sufficient, and settled the fate of 
the war, as far as the naval part was concerned. 

The general reader may be interested in some remarks 
and anecdotes concerning the battle. 

During the hottest part of the engagement between 
the Marlborough and the Vengeur, the former ran the 
latter aboard to windward, her anchor hooking the French 
ship's fore shrouds and channels. The master of the 
English ship wanted to cut her adrift, but Captain Harvey 
exclaimed, "No ! we have got her, and we will keep her." 
" The ships then swung broadside to broadside, and both 
paid off before the wind, locked together, dropped out of 
line, and engaged furiously. So close were these ships 
locked that the Marlborough was unable to open her 
midship lower-deck ports, which were consequently blown 
off by her eager crew, etc." 

The flag-ship, the Queen Charlotte, as in duty bound, 
set a brilliant example to the rest of the fleet. On the 
29th of May, when she broke through the French line, 
she was followed, gallantly, by the Leviathan and Belle- 
rophon, commanded by Captains Lord Seymour, Conway 
and Hope, and both these ships were most conspicuous 
in the whole eno-ao-ement. 

o o 

The foremast of the Leviathan was crippled, and in 
danger of falling, and Lord Howe, observing this, stood 
to her rescue. ' Lord Seymour, in his own journal, says, 
"quarter before four; being very near, and pointing into 
the body of the French fleet, which had then appeared, 
to succor their rear, the Queen Charlotte wearing, we 
did the same, but not without exposing ourselves for a 
long time to be raked b)' the French Admiral and three 



210 NAVA-L ftATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Other ships, which had stood back to the rehef of two of 
their ships that were in danger ot being- cut oft' by our 
fleet. 

"On this occasion the gallant conduct of the Queen 
Charlotte, in coming down to draw the enemy's fire from 
the Leviathan, has made too strong an impression upon 
my mind, and is too much the subject of general applause 
on board of her, for me to resist expressing my sense 
of it, and oftering, in the name of all the officers, as well 
as my own, this feeble though grateful tribute of our 
admiration of our noble chief, Lord Howe." 

But the day most glorious for Howe was the ist of 
June, when he broke through the French line again, 
brushing the ensign of Admiral Villaret Joyeuse's Hag- 
ship on the one side, and grazing, on the other, the 
Jacobin's mizzen shrouds with her jib-boom. 

CoUingwood, eleven years after, in the battle of Trafal- 
gar, did much the same thing, in the Sovereign, when he 
cut the line, and grazed the stern of the Santa Anna. 

Had not the Queen Charlotte's fore-top-mast been shot 
away, and the main-top-mast gone over the side just as 
the French Admiral's fire had about ceased, there is little 
doubt he would have captured the French flag-ship ; but 
she made off to leeward, and it was impossible for the 
Charlotte to follow her. The French flag-ship's hull was 
completely knocked to pieces, and her battery rendered 
almost useless. The tremendous broadsides which the 
Charlotte poured into her stern, in passing through the 
line, made a hole large enough, the sailors said, to row 
the Admiral's barofe throuofh. 

As the Oueen Charlotte was comino- down on the 
French line, determined to pass through, it appeared so 
close and compact that Howe expressed a doubt as to 
whether there was room to pass between the Montagne, 



LORD HOWE AND FHK FRENCH FLEET. 211 

1 20, and the Jacobin, 80, which had got partly under the 
lee of the former, as if afraid of the Charlotte's broadside, 
thus occupying the place the Charlotte intended to take. 
Howe was determined either to go through, or to run the 
French flag-ship or the Jacobin on board. His Master, 
Bowen, in a blunt and resolute tone, called out, " That's 
right, my Lord, the Charlotte will make room for her- 
self" 

On his first appointment to the flag-ship this unpolished 
but shrewd and excellent seaman was in the habit, in 
addressing the commander-in-chief, of so constandy using 
the expression "My Lord," that one day Howe said to 
him, "Bowen, pray, my good fellow, do give over that 
eternal 'My Lord! My Lord;' d'ont you know I am 
called Black Dick in the fleet?" This was his usual 
sobriquet among the sailors. 

Just as the Queen Charlotte was closing with the 
Montague, Lord Howe, who was himself conning the 
ship, called out to Bowen to starboard the helm. On 
this Bowen remarked that if they did they would be on 
board the next ship, the Jacobin. His lordship replied, 
sharply, "what is that to you, sir?" Bowen, much netded, 
said, in an undertone, "D — n my very eyes if / care, if jk^z^ 
d'ont. I'll go near enough to singe some of our 
whiskers." 

Howe heard him, and, turning to his Captain, said, 
"That's a fine fellow, Curtis!" 

Lord Howe appears to have had but a dim conception 
of a joke. Shordy after the return of his flag-ship to 
Portsmouth, he sent for the First Lieutenant, Mr. Larcom, 
w^hom he thus addressed: "Mr. Larcom, your conduct In 
the acdon has been such that it is necessary for you to 
leave this ship." 

Larcom, who was as brave as the Admiral, and a good 



212 NAVAL BA'ITLES, ANCIENT AM) MODERN. 

officer, and good seaman, was perfectly thunder-struck, 
and, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed "Good God! My 
Lord, what have I done? Why am I to leave the ship? 
I have done my duty to the utmost of my power." 

" Very true, Sir," said the Admiral, "but leave this ship 
you must; and I have great pleasure in presenting you with 
this commission as Commander, for your conduct on the 
late occasion." 

It appeared that it was at the solicitation of his Fleet- 
Captain, Sir Roger Curtis, that Howe appointed the Caesar 
to lead the van in the order of batde of May 29th. 

It was against Lord Howe's own opinion. Circum- 
stances occurred, on the very day, which induced Lord 
Howe to place another ship in that station. But he again 
yielded the point, at Curtis' earnest request to give 
Molloy another trial, the Admiral remarking, at the same 
time, "You have mistaken your man; I have not." On 
the 1st of June, when the Caesar hauled up, instead of 
going through the enemy's line, Piowe, who was standing 
on the poop of the Queen Charlotte, tapped Sir Roger 
Curtis on the shoulder, and, pointing to the Caesar, said, 
"Look, Curds, there goes your friend. Who is mistaken 
now?" 

Certainly Lord Howe's biographer is mistaken in re- 
cording this anecdote of the man whom he delights to 
honor. It is an old story, and has been true of Admirals, 
in peace or war, time out of mind. But it shows a 
culpable weakness in Howe, to allow himself to be 
swayed against his own convictions by any one, In so 
vitally Important a matter. 

The conduct of the Marlborough, Captain Berkeley, Is 
interesdng, and Illustrates the phases of naval actions of 
that day. 

The Marlborough first engaged the Impetueux for 



iX)ilt) HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. 213 

about twenty minutes, when the French ship paid off, 
and dropped with her bowsprit over the Marlborough's 
quarter, where she lay exposed to a heavy raking fire. 
Every one was driven from her decks, and some of the 
Marlborough's men boarded her, but were ordered back. 
Just then the three masts of the French ship went over 
the side, and a 74 which was astern attempted to weather 
and rake the Marlborough. But he met with such a fire 
that he dropped on board his consort's quarter, and then 
luffing up, boarded the Marlborough upon the bow. But 
the steadiness of the Encrlish small-arm men and the fire 
of her carronades prevented the French from succeeding. 
In a few minutes this second ship's masts also went over, 
and they both lay, without firing a gun, without any 
colors, and with no one on the upper deck. At last the 
English fleet came up and took possession of them both. 
Captain Berkeley proceeds to say: "I now attempted to 
back off from the two vessels, and unfortunately accom- 
plished it just as the French Admiral came under our 
stern and raked us, by which he did us considerable 
damage, and carried away our three masts. It was from 
this ship I received my wound, and, therefore, the re- 
mainder is the account of my First Lieutenant." 

Lieutenant Monckton then proceeds : " At the time 
Captain Berkeley was obliged to quit the deck we were 
still on board, but backing clear of our opponents. Our 
masts being then shot away by the three-decker under 
our stern, carried away the ensign staff, and deprived us 
of hoisting any colors for a few minutes. I ordered the 
wreck to be cleared away from the color-chest, and 
spread a Union Jack at the sprit-sail yard, and a St. 
George's ensign on the stump of the foremast ; but per- 
ceiving that the latter was mistaken by some of our own 
ships for the tri-colored flag, I ordered that flag to be cut off. 
14 A 



214 NAVAI- BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

"At this time we were laying along the Impetueux, 
within pistol shot, and finding she did not return a gun, I 
ordered our ship to cease firing at her, and suffered them 
quietly to extinguish the flames, which I could easily have 
prevented with our musketry. While clearing away the 
wreck, the rear of the enemy's fleet was coming up, and 
perceiving that they must range close to us, and being 
determined never to see the British flag struck, I ordered 
the men to lie down at their quarters, to receive their 
fire, and return it afterwards, if possible. But, being 
dismasted, she rolled so deep that our lower deck ports 
could not be opened. The event was as I expected: the 
enemy's rear passed us to leeward, very close, and we 
fairly ran the gauntlet of every ship which could get a gun 
to bear, but, luckily, without giving us any shot between 
wind and water, or killing any men, except two, who 
Imprudently disobeyed their officers, and got up at their 
quarters. Two of their ships, which had tacked, now 
came to windward of us, and gave us their fire, upon 
which one of their dismasted ships, that had struck, 
hoisted her national flag, but, upon our firing some guns 
at her, she hauled It down again : and a three-decker, 
having tacked, also stood toward us, with a full intention, 
I believe, to sink us, if possible. 

"The Royal George, however, who I suppose had tacked 
after her, came up, and engaged her very closely, carried 
away her main and mizzen masts, and saved the Marl- 
borough from the intended close attack. I then made 
the signal for assistance, on a boat's mast, but this was 
almost instantly shot away. At five the Aquila took us 
in tow, and soon after we joined the fleet." 

A curious incident is said to have taken place on board 
this ship, when lying entirely dismasted, and otherwise 
disabled, the captain and second lieutenant severely 



LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET, 215 

wounded, and the ship so roughly treated that a whisper 
of surrender was heard. Lieutenant Monckton resolutely 

exclaimed, "he would be d d if she ever should 

surrender, and that he would nail her colors to the stump 
of the mast." At that moment a cock, havintr been 
liberated from a broken coop, suddenly perched himself on 
the stump of the mainmast, clapped his wings, and crowed 
aloud. In an instant three hearty cheers rang through 
the ship, and there was no more talk of surrender. The 
cock was afterwards given to the Governor of Plymouth, 
lived to a good old age, and was frequently visited by the 
MarlborouQfh's men. 

The Brunswick, 74, had a large figure-head of the Duke 
of that name, with a laced cocked hat on. This hat was 
carried away by a shot, during the battle. The crew sent 
a deputation to the captain to ask him to give his own 
laced hat to supply the place; and he did so; the 
carpenter nailing it on the Duke's head, when they 
continued the action. 

Nothing could exceed the gallant conduct of this ship, 
as we have already noticed. The Defence, Captain Gam- 
bier, also behaved most gallantly, being terribly cut up, 
and totally dismasted. She was one of the few that 
passed through the enemy's line, and got into the midst 
of the French ships. Captain Gambler was an excellent 
officer, and a gentleman of strict principles of religion 
and morality. At the close of the action. Captain Paken- 
ham, a rattling, good-humored Irishman, hailed him from 
the Invincible, "Well, Jimmy, I see you are pretty well 
mauled; but never mind, Jimmy, whom the Lord loveth 
he chasteneth." 

When the Sans Pareil was taken possession of, the 
English Captain Trowbridge was found on board, a 
prisoner, having been captured in the Castor, when irj 



216 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

charge of the Newfoundland convoy. On the morning 
of the I St of June, the French officers, seeing the British 
fleet under easy sail, going parallel to the French line, 
taunted him by saying, "there will be no fighting to-day; 
your Admiral will not venture down." "Wait a little," 
said Trowbridge, "English sailors never like to fight with 
empty stomachs ; I see the signal flying for all hands to 
breakfast ; after which, take my word for It, they will pay 
you a visit." When the Sans Parell had oot enouoh of the 
battle, and was prepared to surrender; her captain sent 
down to request Trowbridge to come on deck and do him 
the honor of striking the colors. This he very properly 
declined to do. 

Anecdotes of the action are too numerous for all to 
find a place here. But we may mention that on board the 
captured French ships the cartridges were found to be 
mostly made of the fine painted vellum on which church 
music was painted, and of the titles and prcitves de 
noblesse of the principal French families, many hundred 
years old, and Illuminated, In many instances, with the 
genealogical tree. There was a decree of the French 
Convention, applying the archives of the nobility to that 
particular purpose. The great convoy of ships from the 
West Indies and America, consisting of more than two 
hundred sail of ships, of immense value, and of so much 
Importance to the French government that they risked 
the loss of their great Brest fleet for Its safety, arrived 
safely in port a few days after the battle of the first of 
June. 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 



217 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. A. D. 1797. 




LTHOUGH Rodney had fought a cele- 
brated action off Cape St. Vincent a few 
years before, yet the one which occurred 
in 1797 so far ecHpsed it that Rodney's 
action is scarcely ever thought of. 

St. Vincent is the name of the most 
southwestern point of Portugal, in the 
old Kincrdom of Alearve. 
Admiral Sir John Jervis, with an English fleet under 
his command, left the Tagus on the i8th of January, 1 797, 
with eleven ships-of-the-line. Before crossing the bar of 
the Tagus the St. George, a three-decker, got on shore, 
and, being got off with difficulty, was found to be so much 
injured as to render it necessary to send her back to 
Lisbon. So with ten sail-of-the-line Sir John put to sea, 
having for his first object to escort some Brazil merchant- 
men and their Portuguese convoy to a safe latitude; 
thence he intended to proceed off Cape St. Vincent, 
where he had appointed a rendezvous for the St, George 
to join him. He also hoped to be there joined by long 
and anxiously expected reinforcements from England. 

His fleet consisted of the Victory, of 100 guns, his 
flag'ship ; the Britannia, 100, Vice Admiral Thompson; 
the Barfleur and Blenheim, 98s ; and the Captain, Cul- 
loden, Egmont, Excellent and Goliath, 74s, and the 
Pjadem, 64. 



218 NAVAL BATTLES. ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

On the 6th of February Sir John had parted from the 
Portuguese ships, and was upon his return to his station 
off Cape St. Vincent, where five sail-of-the-line, sent from 
tlie Channel fleet to reinforce him, effected their junction. 
These were the Prince George, 98, Vice Admiral Parker; 
the Namur, 90 ; and the Colossus, Irresistible, and Orion, 
74s. It so happened that the accession of force did no 
more than make up that which the Admiral had with him 
when he sent home for an addition to his force. A sixth 
serious accident soon deprived him of the use of another 
ship ; for, early on the morning of February 1 2th, while yet 
quite dark, as the ships were tacking in succession, the 
Colossus, keeping her wind a little too long, compelled 
the Culloden to bear up, to clear her. The former ship 
then suddenly bore up also, and the two ran foul of 
each other. The Colossus escaped almost without injury, 
but the Culloden received damages which would have 
sent most ships home to a dockyard. She was, however, 
commanded by the gallant Captain Trowbridge, and he 
managed, after a time, to repair damages at sea, and to 
be ready for action again. 

Sir John Jervis, with his fifteen ships, persevered in 
working up to his station, against a strong southeast 
wind, not doubting that he should there gain a sight, or 
at least have tidings, of the Spanish fleet, of which he was 
in quest, which could not be less than nineteen, and might 
be thirty sail-of-the-line. 

Whatever the force might be, it was to be broken up, 
if possible, and a heavy blow struck against the Spanish 
navy. 

On the morning of February 13th the English frigate 
Minerve, bearing the flag of Horatio Nelson, then a 
Commodore, came into the fleet, with the Intelligence that 
on the 1 1 th, soon after quitting Gibraltar, he had been 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 219 

chased by two Spanish line-of-battle-ships, and that, after- 
wards, when in the mouth of the Straits, he got sight of 
the Spanish fleet of whose strength and probable inten- 
tions Commodore Nelson communicated some important 
Information. In the course of the same evening the 
Niger frigate joined the fleet, with the same information; 
she having kept the Spaniards in sight for several days. 
Captain Foote, of the Niger, informed the Admiral that 
their fleet could not be more than fifteen miles off. 

It was then near sunset. Signal was made for th^ 
British fleet to prepare for batde, and to keep clos^ 
order for the night, during which the signal guns of the 
Spaniards could be distinctly heard. 

While the English are thus keeping a bright lookout 
for them, let us take a glance at the Spanish fleet, soon to 
be engaged In a momentous battle. 

The grand fleet of Spain, under the command of Don 
Josef de Cordova, in the Santlssima Trinldada, a hugQ 
ship of 130 guns, had sailed from Carthagena on the first 
of the month. He had, besides his flag-ship, six of 112 
guns, two of So, and eighteen of 74 guns ; In all twenty- 
seven sail-of-the-line, with ten frigates, and two or three 
brigs. 

Some gun-boats, and about seventy transports, having 
on board two battalions of guards and a Swiss regiment, 
and a great quantity of military stores and ammunition, 
accompanied the fleet, all bound to the camp of St. Roche. 

The Spanish fleet passed Gibraltar at daylight of the 
5th, and some of them escorted the transports to Alges- 
Iras, where the troops and stores were disembarked. It 
was these ships, upon their return to the main fleet, which 
had seen and chased Nelson. 

The report was that this fleet was to proceed to Brest, 
then to join the Ft-ench fleet, which was In turn to be 



220 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

joined by the Dutch fleet; and that with the whole united, 
England was to be invaded. Be that as it may, the 
destination of the Spanish Admiral was, in the first 
instance, Cadiz. But the strong easterly gale that had 
given him a quick passage through the Straits soon blew in 
his teeth and drove his ships considerably to the westward 
of their port. On the night of the 13th, the wind still 
adverse, the lookout frigates of the Spanish fleet, which 
now consisted of twenty-five sail-of-the-line and eleven 
frigates, got sight of several of the British ships ; but the 
latter, being taken by them for part of a convoy, excited 
little attention. 

The Spaniards were busy in taking advantage of a 
favorable change of wind which just then occurred, and 
were crowding sail to make the land, without much 
regard to order. 

The morning of the 14th of February, a disastrous day 
long to be remembered by the Spaniards, broke dark and 
hazy. The two fleets were in full sight of each other. 
The British were formed in two compact divisions, on the 
starboard tack, with the wind at west by south. Cape 
St. Vincent then bore east by north, distant about twenty- 
five miles. 

At about half-past six the Culloden, 74, made signal 
for five sail, S. W. by S. The frigates immediately con- 
firmed the same, adding that the strangers were by the 
wind, on the starboard tack, A sloop-of-war was at once 
sent to reconnoitre, and the Eno-lish Admiral made signal 
to his fleet to form in close order and prepare for battle. 
Soon after three ships-of-the-line were sent to chase to 
the S. W., and, upon the sloop signaling that she saw 
eight sail in that direction, three more line-of-battle ships 
were sent. 

The Spanish reconnoitring frigates soon made out 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 221 

and recognized these detached English ships, and it was 
not until then that the Spaniards recovered from their 
delusion that the ships they had seen were part of a 
convoy. 

Then they fell into another. An American ship, which 
had passed through the British fleet some days before, 
while the Culloden was away in chase, had afterwards 
been spoken by the Spanish Admiral, and informed 
him that Sir John Jervis had but nine sail-of-the-line. 

The partial view of the British fleet now obtained 
through the fog and haze tended to confirm this state- 
ment, and the Spanish were in high glee at the idea that 
they should soon make a triumphant entry into Cadiz, 
with some English ships as prizes ; for their force was too 
great for nine ships to resist, however well handled and 
bravely fought. 

About lo A.M. the English frigate Minerve made signal 
for twenty sail in the southwest, and presently for eight 
more. 

By this time the fog had cleared away, and left the two 
fleets to count their enemy's numbers. 

The Spanish were, of course, greatly surprised at seeing 
fifteen instead of nine sail-of-the-line ; and these fifteen, 
found in two close lines, were steadily advancing to cut 
off those of their ships that, owing either to mismanage- 
ment or to a blind confidence in numerical strength, had 
been allowed to separate from their main body. Their 
main body, formed in a sort of a square, were running 
before the wind, under all sail, while their leewardmost 
ships, with their starboard tacks on board, were striving 
hard to effect a junction with the former, in time to frus- 
trate, if possible, the evident design of the British Admiral. 

As, besides the object of cutting off the six detached 
sail-of-the-line, it was now equally important to be ready 



222 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

to receive the nineteen sail bearing down from to wind- 
ward, the British Admiral, soon after eleven a.m., ordered 
his fleet to form in line-of-battle, ahead and astern, as was 
most convenient, and to steer south-southwest. 

The advanced position of the Culloden in the morning-'s 
chase conferred upon her the honor of being the leading 
ship in the line, which, when all the ships had fallen into 
their stations, and were close hauled on the starboard 
tack, was closed by the Excellent. 

Thus arranged the fifteen British ships steered direct 
for the opening, still wide, but gradually narrowing, 
between the two divisions of the Spanish fleet. 

About this time the advanced ships of the Spanish 
weather division began wearing and trimming on the port 
tack. 

At 11.30 A.M., the Culloden, coming abreast of the 
leewardmost of these ships, opened fire upon them, as 
they passed her starboard broadside. She then stood on, 
followed by the Blenheim, which ship also gave and 
received a distant fire. 

As soon as she reached the wake of the enemy's line 
the Culloden tacked again and stood towards it. 

The three rearmost Spanish ships, the Conde de Regla, 
112; Principe d'Asturias, 112; and Oriente, 74, being 
some way astern of their companions, and therefore in 
danger of being cut off by the leading British ships, bore 
up together, athwart the hawse of the Prince George, 98, 
(Vice- Admiral Parker's flag-ship). The latter, being 
rather too far from her leader, had left a sufficient open- 
ing for the purpose. 

The three Spaniards then hauled up on the starboard 
tack, and joined four others- that lay a little to windward 
of the remaining three of their lee division. 

Upon the Prince George and Blenheim tacking, half an 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 223 

hour after noon, the advanced portion of the Spanish lee 
division put about also, and thus both divisions of the 
Spanish fleet were brought on the port tack. The 
English ships astern of the Prince George, as they in- 
creased their distance from the van, lessened it from the 
rear division, several of the ships of which opened, and 
received in return, a sharp fire, evidendy to the disadvan- 
tage of the Spanish, as they all, but one, wore round on 
the other tack. 

The Egmont, 74, at this time received damaging shots 
through both main and mizzen-masts; while the Colossus, 
another English 74, lost important spars, which compelled 
her to wear out of line, and afforded an opportunity to a 
Spanish three-decker, which was to windward and astern 
of the others, to bear up, with the intendon of raking the 
crippled English ship. The Orion, 74, seeing this, backed 
her main-top-sail, and lay to, to cover the Colossus; 
whereupon the three-decker wore, and stood away to the 
southward, after her friends. 

The Spanish ship which had not accompanied their lee 
division in its retreat was the Oriente. She hauled up, 
on the port tack, and stretching along, under the lee of 
the remainder of the Bridsh line, from which she was 
pardy concealed by the smoke, succeeded in running the 
gaundet, and in regaining her own line, to windward. 

This was the most gallant and seamanlike act per- 
formed by any Spanish ship on that day. About i p. m., 
as the rearmost ship of that part of the Bridsh line which 
was sdll upon the starboard tack had advanced so far 
ahead as to leave an open sea to leeward of the Spanish 
weather division, then passing in the contrary direcdon, 
the ships of the latter, as the last effort to join their lee 
division, bore up together. Scarcely was the movement 
made ere It caught the attendon of one who was as quick 



224 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

in seeing the consequences of Its success as he was ready 
in devising the means for its failure. Nelson, then a 
Commodore, directed Captain Miller to wear the Captain, 
74, on which ship he bore his pennant, and in which he 
achieved much of his renown. 

The Captain, a smart working ship, was soon round, 
and, passing between the Diadem and the Excellent, ran 
athwart the bows of the Spanish ships, as far as the ninth 
from the rear, which was the huge Santissima Trinidada, 
^^ 130 guns, a four-decker. The Captain instantly 
opened fire upon the large ship and those about her, 
with the rearmost of which the Culloden, which had 
recommenced firing a few minutes before, was warmly 
engaged. Soon the Spanish Admiral and the ships 
about him, not liking to present their bows, even to so 
insignificant a force, hauled nearly to the wind, and soon 
opened a very heavy fire upon the Captain and Culloden. 
By 2 p. M. the latter had stretched so far ahead as to 
cover and to afford a few minutes respite to the Captain. 
Of this Nelson took advantage, replenishing her racks 
with shot, and splicing and repairing running rigging. 
The Captain then renewed the battle with great anima- 
tion. 

At about half-past two the Blenheim, 98, came crowd- 
ing up. and, passing to windward of the Captain, afforded 
her a second respite, which was taken advantage of as 
before. 

The two more immediate opponents of the Captain and 
Culloden had been the San Ysidro, 74, and the Salvador 
del Mundo, 112; these, being already with some of their 
topmasts gone, and otherwise in a crippled state, the 
Blenheim, by a few heavy broadsides, sent staggering 
astern, to be cannonaded afresh by the Prince George 
and other advancing ships. 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 225 

The Excellent, 74 (Captain Collingwood, afterwards 
Lord Collingwood), was now coming up. This ship had 
been ordered by the Admiral to quit her station in the 
line and lead the weather division, consisting of the 
Victory, 100; Barfleur, 98 ; Namur, 90; Egmont, 74; 
Goliath, 74, and Britannia, 100. The latter was a duli 
ship, and a longdistance off, though under all sail. 

This weather division was intended to pass to wind 
ward of the Spanish line. 

<About half-past two, the Excellent, having by a prcsi, 
of sail arrived abreast of the Salvador del Mundo's 
weather quarter, brought to, and engaged her warmly, 
until the latter, ceasing to fire in return, and as it appeared, 
striking her colors, the Excellent stood on to the next 
ship, the San Ysidro, whose three top-masts had already 
been shot away. This ship she closely engaged on the 
lee side, for some time, when the San Ysidro, after a 
gallant defence, in his crippled state, hauled down the 
Spanish, and hoisted the British flag. 

The Excellent then made sail ahead, and soon came 
into close action with the San Nicolas, 86, whose fore- 
mast was gone, and who, as well as the ship abreast and 
rather ahead of her, to windward, the San Josef, 1 1 2, had 
been occasionally firing at the Captain, which we have 
seen so busily engaged with others. 

The Excellent, passing within a few feet of the San 
Nicolas' starboard side, poured in a destructive fire, and 
then stood on. The San Nicolas, in luffing up to avoid 
Collingwood's broadside, ran foul of the San Josef, whose 
mizzen-mast was already shot away, and which had 
received very considerable other damage from the fire 
of four English ships. 

The Captain, as soon as the Excellent was sufficiendy 
ahead of her to be clear, luffed up as close to the wind as 



226 NAVAT, BATi'LES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

her shattered condition would admit, when her fore-top« 
mast, which had been shot througli, fell over the side. 
In this unmanageable state, with her wheel shot away, 
and all her sails, shrouds and running rigging more or 
less cut, with the Blenheim far ahead, and the Culloden 
crippled, astern, no alternative remained but to board 
the San Nicolas. Previous to doing this the Captain 
reopened her fire within less than twenty yards, and the 
San Nicolas returned it, with great spirit, for some time. 
The Captain then put her helm a starboard, and encoun- 
tered the two Spanish ships drifting down upon her. As 
the Captain came to, she hooked, with her port cat-head, 
the San Nicolas' starboard gallery, and with her sprit-sail 
yard, the San Nicolas* mizzen-rigging. What immedi- 
ately ensued is in Nelson's own language. 

There was a detachment of the 69th Regiment on 
board, and Nelson says : — 

"The soldiers of the 69th, with an alacrity which will 
ever do them credit, and Lieutenant Pearson, of that regi- 
ment, were almost the foremost on this service. The 
first man who jumped into the enemy's mizzen-chains was 
Captain Berry, late my first lieutenant; (Captain Millet 
was in the very act of going, also, but I directed him to 
remain;) he was supported from our sprit-sail yard, which 
hooked in their mizzen-rig-ainQr. 

"A soldier of the 69th Regiment, having broke the 
upper quarter gallery window, I jumped in myself, and was 
followed by others, as fast as possible. I found the cabin 
doors fastened; and some Spanish officers fired their 
pistols ; but, having broke open the doors, the soldiers 
fired, and the Spanish Brigadier (Commodore with a dis- 
tinguishing pennant) fell, as he was retreating to the 
quarter-deck. I pushed immediately onward for the 
quarter-deck, where I found Captain Berry in possession 



BATTIE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 227 

of the poop, and the Spanish ensign hauling down. I 
passed, with my people and Lieutenant Pearson, on the 
larboard gangway, to the forecastle, when I met three or 
four Spanish ofticers, prisoners to my seamen ; they 
delivered me their swords. A fire of pistols or muskets 
opening from the stern-gallery of the San Josef, I directed 
the soldiers to fire into her stern ; and calling Captain 
Miller, ordered him to send more men into the San 
Nicolas ; and directed my people to board the first-rate, 
which was done in an instant. Captain Berry assisting me 
into the main- chains 

"At this moment a Spanish officer looked over the 
quarter-deck rail and said they surrendered. From this 
most welcome intelligence it was not long before I was 
on the quarter-deck, when the Spanish Captain, with a 
bow, presented me his sword, and said the Admiral was 
dying of his wounds. 

*' I asked him, on his honor, if the ship was surrendered. 
He declared she was ; on which I gave him my hand, and 
desired him to call on his officers and ship's company, and 
tell them of it ; which he did, and, on the quarter-deck of 
a Spanish first-rate, extravagant as the story may seem, 
did I receive the swords of vanquished Spaniards ; which, 
as I received, I gave to Wm. Fearney, one of my barge- 
men, who put them, with the greatest sang-froid, under 
his arm. I was surrounded by Captain Berry, Lieutenant 
Pearson, of the 69th Regiment, John Sykes, John 
Thompson, Francis Cooke, all old Agamemnons, and 
several other brave men, seamen and soldiers. Thus fell 
these ships." 

The foregoing is part of a report signed by "Horatio 
Nelson," "Ralph Wlllett Miller," and "T. Berry." 

The loss of the Captain in boarding the San Nicolas 
did not exceed seven killed and ten wounded. That of 



228 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the San Nicolas was about twenty. But the taking of 
the first-rate San Josef did not cost the Captain a man^ 
nor does it appear that the prize herself lost above one or 
two men, in the trifling exchange of small-arm shot which 
had preceded her surrender. 

The previous loss of the San Josef had, however, 
been severe, principally from the fire of the St. George. 

During this brilliant service of the Captain she had 
been so disabled that Commodore Nelson returned to the 
Minerve, and at five o'clock the same day shifted his 
broad pennant to the Irresistible. 

But other ships besides those already mentioned did 
p-ood work. 

The Victory, next astern of the Excellent, came up in 
time to throw a most destructive fire into the Salvador 
del Mundo, whose colors had been once lowered but 
were then again flying. The Barfleur, close astern of the 
Victory, seconded the blow. Having already lost her 
fore and main -top-masts, and being seriously shattered in 
the hull ; observing, also, that her two antagonists were 
preparing to round upon her bow, and that a third three» 
decker, the Namur, was not far off, to windward, the 
Salvador del Mundo hauled down her colors. 

The Diadem and Irresistible had previously been 
ordered to suspend their fire at the Salvador del Mundo, 
until the Victory and her second passed clear, and they 
were now directed, by signal, to take possession of the 
Spanish ship. Soon after this the Excellent got close 
under the lee of the Santa Trinldada, which vessel she 
engaged for nearly an hour, assisted by the Orion, 
Irresistible, and particularly the Blenheim. At last the 
Spanish four-decker, having her fore and mizzen-masts 
shot away, and having suffered Immense damage in hull, 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 229 

rigging and sails, hauled down her colors, after a splendid 
resistance to odds. 

just then two of the Spanish van ships, having wore, 
were standing to the support of the Santa Trinldada. 
Two fresh ships were coming down from the southwest ; 
and the lee Spanish division, of nine sail, well formed, and 
including among them the Conde de Regia, and the 
Principe d' Asturias, three-deckers, were approaching from 
the southeast. All these ships, closing round their sorely 
harassed comrade, saved him from further molestation. 

By five o'clock the victory was won. At this time all 
firing ceased, and at that season of the yc^ar night was al 
hand. The British Admiral made the signal for his flee^ 
to bring to, on the starboard tack. This he did, chiefly ti 
cover the prizes and his own disabled ships from the 
nine Spanish ships of the lee division, which, having made 
a good stretch to windward, on the starboard tack, were 
now rapidly coming up on the opposite one. 

The determined front of the British chano-'^ed thel* 
purpose, and after firing a few ineffectual broadsides, thej 
stood on to the assistance of their chief. 

Both fleets lay to during the night, to repair damages', 
and day-break discovered them on opposite tacks, eacb 
in llne-of-battle ahead. 

The Spanish had the weather gage, and still possessecS 
eighteen or twenty effective sail-of-the-line, but they made 
no attempt to renew the action. Probably some of theii 
ships were not In condition to fight. The great Santa 
Trinidada was nearly out of sight to leeward, in tow of a 
frigate. As it was necessary to keep the British fleet 
together, Sir John Jervis sent no vessels in chase of he-r. 

The whole Spanish line was standing to the northward, 
while the British fleet, which — including the Colossus and 
CuUoden, neither of which was fit to take a place in the 
15 A 



230 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

line — could muster but fourteen shIps-of-the-Hne,then took 
their four prizes and the Captain in tow, and very slowly 
made their way southward. 

The damage sustained from tlie contest by the British 
ships was not so great as might have been expected, 
from the severity of the contest. The only ship of theirs 
dismasted was the Captain, which ship also suffered much 
in the hull. 

The Colossus and Culloden were both very much cut 
up, and the latter had suffered especially in the hull, and 
was very leaky. She had only one carronade dismounted, 
however, and two first and two second deck guns. 

The loss of life among the British was comparatively 
small. Except in the cases of the Colossus and Egmont, 
those ships which suffered most in hull and rigging had 
most killed and wounded. The total for the fleet was 
73 killed and 227 wounded. Of course, these were only 
the badly wounded ; for it was not the custom, in those 
days, to report the slightly wounded. It is, therefore, fair 
to consider the total as about 400 ; an amazingly small 
number, considering the nature of the action. 

According to the Spanish accounts, ten of their ships, 
besides those crippled, suffered materially, but not more 
than half of them showed any signs of being at all 
crippled. The Santa Trinidada, Soberano, Principe 
d'Asturias and Conde de Regla were very much dam- 
aged. 

The damages of the prizes are better known. All four 
ships had lost masts, and all were so hulled as to be very 
leaky. The San Nicolas was badly on fire, but her 
captors extinguished it. Their loss in killed and wounded 
amounted to about 1000. 

The detached and confused state of the Spanish fleet 
at the beginning of the batde, and the consequent partial 



BATIXE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 231 

and irregular manner in which their ships came Into 
action, would render any statement of comparative force, 
by comparing the totals on each side, very unfair. 

It would be correct to say that the British line con- 
sisted of fifteen ships-of-the-line, and the Spanish line (if 
it could be called so) of twenty-five, and afterwards of 
twenty-seven, ships-of-the-line. 

The Santissima Trinidada was a monster in size. She 
was built in Havana, in 1769, as a 112-gun ship, except 
that she had greater beam than was usual with that class. 
Some time about 1 796 her quarter-deck and forecastle 
were formed into a whole deck, barricades built along 
her gangways, with ports in them, and she was made into 
a flush four-decker, but was not really much superior in 
force to the three-decked 112s. 

The most striking feature in this victory is the boldness 
of the attack. Another commander might have paused 
before running into the midst of twenty-five sail with 
fifteen. If he had paused to weigh the chances, the 
separated ships would have closed, and the Spanish line 
then have been too compact to be attacked with hopes of 
success. 

Sir John Jervis, relying upon the character of his force, 
and viewing with a general's eye the loose and disordered 
state of his enemy's line, resolved to profit by it, attacked 
promptly, and conquered. It cannot be said that he 
broke the Spanish line, for there was no line to be broken. 
He simply chose the proper moment for advance, had a 
leader who never flinched or fell back, and he had all 
about him those who were emulous to follow so bright 
an example. 

On the other hand, the bold front he put on was calcu- 
lated to sink the hearts of those among the Spanish 
fleet who had little experience of naval warfare. The 



232 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Spanish fleet was not only In confusion at the outset, but 
continued to be so; and some of their ships undoubtedly 
fired into their comrades, while they were so huddled 
toirether that if a shot missed one it was sure to strike 
another of them. 

Then the British were better sailors, and repaired 
damages more quickly ; and to many of them the battle 
was more like a rattling game than a grim matter of life 
and death and national renown. 

It is reported that the Captain actually expended all 
her shot in this action, and when grape was needed for 
her 32-lb carronades, used 7-ft) shot as a substitute. 

This at a short distance must have caused great 
execution. 

When the Spanish Admiral at last formed his scattered 
divisions into line, he found the British in equal, if not 
better, alignment ; and each side then drew off, the one 
to lament, the other to exult, over the events of the 
day. 

The Spanish were never accused of a lack of courage, 
either by sea or on land, and their discomfiture appears 
to have been caused principally by the worthlessness of 
the crews which manned their ships. These were com- 
posed of pressed landsmen, and soldiers of new levies, 
with a very few seamen in each ship. It has been re- 
ported that these " poor panic-stricken wretches," when 
called upon to go aloft, to repair the damaged rigging, 
fell upon their knees, and cried out that they preferred 
being sacrificed on the spot to performing a duty where 
death seemed inevitable from more than one cause. The 
numerical superiority of their guns seemed little in their 
favor, for some of the San Josef's were found with their 
tompions in, on the side which had been engaged, after 
the battle was over. Indeed, the numbers on board some 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 233 

of the Spanish ships seem to have been rather a detri- 
ment to them. 

A rather prejudiced writer says that if eight of their 
twenty-five ships had been left at Carthagena, and had 
the five or six hundred seamen they probably contained 
been substituted for twice that number of raw hands, 
taken from the remaining seventeen ships, the latter 
would probably have made a better stand; and the 
victory, if achieved at all, have been at the expense of a 
much greater number of lives in the British fieet. What 
ever the fault of the crews, the officers fought well 
" Upon the whole, the victory off Cape St. Vincent 
although from its consequences pre-eminently great, from 
its results, dispassionately considered, cannot be prO' 
nounced in an equal degree glorious." 

At about 3 P.M. of the i6th the British fieet and the 
prizes anchored in Lagos Bay. Here the Spanish 
prisoners, numbering about 3000 men, were landed; and, 
a receipt being given by the proper authority, were 
allowed to remain. 

On the 23d, after riding out a gale of wind with much 
difficulty, it blowing dead on shore. Sir John Jervis sailed, 
and in five days the whole were in safety in Lisbon. It 
was remarked that the prizes, under jury-masts, beat all 
the English ships in working into the Tagus. 

Great congratulations and celebrations took place at 
Lisbon, for the Portuguese had every reason to rejoice 
at this victory, while in England the news was met with 
immense enthusiasm. Sir John Jervis was created a peer 
of Great Britain, by the title of Baron Jervis of Meaford, 
and Earl of St. Vincent ; with a pension of ;^30oo per 
annum. Vice-Admiral Thompson and Admiral Parker 
were created Baronets, and Vice-Admiral the Hon. William 
Waldegrave was appointed to a lucrative post abroad. 



234 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Commodore Nelson, who had so often proved in his own 
person that the danger of a bold enterprise required only 
to be met to be overcome, was not mentioned in Sir John 
Jervis' despatches, but received the insignia of the Bath, 
and the freedom of the City of London. 

Thanks of Parliament were voted to the fleet, and gold 
medals were given to all the flag-officers and captains, as 
on similar occasions. The four Spanish prizes were 
commissioned, and retained in service on the Lisbon 
station. 

The gale which had assailed the British fleet in Lagos 
Bay caught the remainder of Admiral Cordova's fleet at 
sea. It dispersed his ships, and prevented them from 
reaching Cadiz until March. Among them was the huge 
Santissima Trinidada, which, being so much injured by 
shot, was least able to stand bad weather. 

On the morning of the 2Sth of February, as she was 
striving to regain the coast, the English frigate Terpsichore 
appeared in sight, to the westward. Her captain knew 
of the battle, and divined, at once, that the four-decker 
must be the Sta. Trinidada. He instantly cleared for 
action, and bore down upon her, and began engaging, 
so manoeuvring that he kept clear of her broadside. The 
great ship had, therefore, only her chasers with which to 
chastise the temerity of her pigmy foe. The frigate kept 
her company until March 2d, doing her considerable 
damage, and receiving some in return. 

On that date twelve sail of Spanish men-of-war 
appeared, and the Terpsichore hauled up for the Mediter- 
ranean. 

Several ships from England joined the fleet, and the 
Admiral cruised off Cadiz, with twenty-one sail-of-the-line, 
blockading twenty-six Spanish ships, and the latter did 
not again appear at sea that vear, 



BAITLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 235 

Admiral Cordova, and his two divisional flag-officers, 
Moralez and Merino, togedier widi eleven captains, were 
brouofht before a council of war, to answer for their 
conduct in the battle. Nothing appears to have come of 
it, for the personal gallantry of the officers was beyond 
all dispute. 

One fact is certain, that a Spanish three-decker, bearing 
a Vice-Admiral's flag, did her best to cut through the 
line, between the Victory and Egmont. 

In cases of this kind the officers are too frequently 
made the scapegoats of a blundering Administration, 






23Q NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



ENGLISH FLEET IN CANARY ISLANDS. 
A. D. 1797. 




/N addition to the blockade and bombardment 
of Cadiz, with which Lord St, Vincent was 
carrying on an active warfare against the 
Spaniards, he detached two expeditions 
against Santa Cruz, in the Canary Islands, in 
the more important of which Rear- Admiral 
Nelson was not only repulsed, but lost his 
arm, a model of which is still among the 
trophies and ex-votos to be seen in the Cathedral of that 
place. 

On May 28th, 1797, Captain Hallowell, of the Royal 
Navy, in command of the Lively frigate, with the Minerve 
frigate in company, stood into the bay of vSanta Cruz, 
Teneriffe, and discovered at anchor in the road an armed 
brig, which, as the frigate approached, hoisted French 
colors. 

The two commanders deeming It practicable to cut her 
out, the boats of the frigates were next day manned, and 
placed under the orders of Lieut. Thos. Masterman Hardy 
(who afterwards much distinguished himself, and became 
an Admiral). At about half-past two in the afternoon, 
Hardy, with three other naval lieutenants, and one of the 
Lieutenants of Marines, in the boats of the Lively, and two 
lieutenants of the Minerve, with her boats, and their 
respective crews, made a very resolute attack upon the 



ENGLISH FLEET IN CANARY ISLANDS. 23ff 

brig, as she lay at anchor, and, In the face of a smart fire 
of musketry, boarded, and almost immediately carried her. 

This alarmed the town, and a heavy fire of musketry 
and artillery was opened upon the brig, not only from 
every battery, but from a large ship which lay in the road. 

The lightness of the wind at the time retarded the 
weighing of the brig's anchor, and then made It necessary 
for the boats to take the brig in tow. During nearly an 
hour an unremitting fire was kept up from the shore and 
ship. At length, at a litde before four o'clock, they 
succeeded In getting the vessel out of gun-shot. She 
was the French national brig, Mutine, mounting fourteen 
guns, twelve of them long 6-pounders, and the remain- 
ing two brass 36-pounder carronades. 

She had on board 113 men, the rest of her ship's 
company, with her captain, being on shore at the time of 
the capture. 

Hardy, in effecting this handsome capture, did not lose 
a man, but had fifteen wounded. 

The Mutine was a remarkably fine brig, and was put 
in commission by Earl St. Vincent ; and the command of 
her given to the officer in command of the party that 
cut her out. Lord St. Vincent set an ex'imple which was 
not followed by all other commanders in-chief, in those 
stirring times. " He appointed, and gave out that he would 
always appoint, to the command of any <^>f the enemy's 
armed vessels the senior lieutenant of the party that 
captured her." This " win her wear her" plan was a better 
way to multiply Nelsons, than by filling up the vacancies 
with the oftener high-born than deserving gentlemen sent 
out by the Admiralty." 

So ended the first small and successful exp-edition. 
Let us now look at the second. This was of a tnuch 
more serious character. 



2^>'^ NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The rumored arrival at Santa Cruz, on her way to 
Cadiz, o( a richly-freighted Manilla ship, the Principe 
d'Asturias, and the represented vulnerability of the town 
to a well conducted sea attack, induced Earl St. Vincent 
to attempt another enterprise. 

Accordingly, on the 15th of July, 1797, his lordship 
detached upon that service a squadron of three sail-of 
the-line, the Theseus, Culloden, and Zealous, 74s; the. 
Seahorse, Emerald, and Terpsichore, frigates, the Fox, 
lo-gun cutter, and a mortar boat. The whole were under 
the orders of Rear-admiral Nelson, in the Theseus. 

In about five days the squadron arrived off the island. 
Every arrangement that sound judgment could devise 
having been completed, two hundred seamen and marines 
from each of the line-of-battle ships, and one hundred 
from each of the three frigates, exclusive of commissioned 
officers and servants, and a small detachment of Royal 
artillery, the whole together amounting to about 1050 
men, were placed under the command of Captain Trow- 
bridge, of the Culloden. Each captain, under his direc- 
tion, commanded the detachment of seamen from his own 
ship ; and Captain Thomas Oldiield, of the marines, as 
senior marine officer, the entire detachment from that 
corps. 

On the night of the 20th of July the three frigates, 
accompanied by the cutter and mortar-boat, and most of 
the boats of the squadron, stood in close to the land, to 
debark the shore party. 

A strong gale in the offing, and a strong current against 
them, near the shore, prevented them from reaching the 
intended point of debarkation. At about half-past three 
on the morning of the 2 2d the squadron bore up for 
Santa Cruz, and soon after daylight was joined by the 
frigates and small craft. The unavoidable appearance of 



ENGLISH FLEET IN CANARY ISLANDS. 239 

the latter off the coast gave the islanders the very warn- 
ing it was so desirable, for the success of the expedition, 
they should not have. A consultation of the principal 
officers of the squadron now took place, and decided that 
an attack should be made on the heights immediately 
over the fort at the northeast part of the bay ; and then, 
from that commandimg position, to storm and carry the 
fort itself At nine o'clock on the night of the 2 2d the 
frigates anchored inshore, off the east end of the town, 
and landed their men ; but the latter finding the heights 
too strongly guarded to be attempted, re-embarked in 
the course of the night, without loss. The three line-of 
batde ships had meanwhile kept under way, to batter 
the fort, by way of diversion ; but, owing to calms and 
contrary currents, were unable to approach nearer than 
three miles. 

Nelson, not being one to abandon an enterprise until 
after a stout struggle to accomplish it, resolved to give his 
seasoned men a chance at the Santa Cruz garrison as 
soon as possible. On the 24th the 50-gun ship Leander 
joined the squadron, having been sent to reinforce it, by 
Lord St. Vincent. Her captain had considerable experi- 
ence as a cruiser in those parts, and his local knowledge 
was therefore valuable ; while the additional force was 
very acceptable and added to the hopes of the attacking 
party. 

On the afternoon of the 24th, at five o'clock, every- 
thing being in readiness, and secrecy no longer possible, 
the whole squadron anchored to the northeastward of 
th^ town : the line-of-batde ships about six miles off, and 
the frigates much nearer. At eleven o'clock at night, 
about 700 seamen and marines embarked in the boats of 
the squadron, 180 more in the Fox cutter, and about 75 
on board a large boat that had just been captured ; 



240 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

numbering altogether, with the small detachment of Royal 
artillery, about eleven hundred men. The different 
detachments of seamen, under the immediate command 
of their respective captains, the marines under Captain 
Oldfield, the artillery under Lieut. Baynes, and the whole 
force under command of the Rear-Admiral, In person, 
then pushed off for the shore. 

Every precaution had been taken to keep the boats 
together, In order that the attack might be simultaneous ; 
but the rough state of the weather, and the extreme 
darkness of the night, rendered it almost impossible for 
them to keep each other within sight or hearing. At 
about half-past one in the morning, the Fox cutter, with 
the Admiral's boat, those of Captains Fremantle and 
Bowen, and one or two others, reached, undiscovered, 
within half gunsli ()t of the head of the Mole, when, 
suddenly, the alarm bells on shore began to ring, and 
a fire was opened by many pieces of artillery and by 
infantry stationed along the shore. 

Two shots raked the Fox, and another struck her 
between wind and water; so that she sank instantly. Of 
those on board no less than ninety-seven were lost ; and 
amonor them her commander, Lieut. Gibson. 

Another shot struck Rear- Admiral Nelson on the elbow, 
just as he was drawing his sword and stepping out of 
his boat. The wound completely disabled him, and he 
was carried back to his ship at once. Another shot sank 
the boat In which Captain Bowen was about approaching 
the Mole, and seven or eight seamen of her crew perished. 

In spite of this very spirited and determined opposition, 
the British effected a landing, and carried the Mole, 
although It was defended by about three hundred men 
and six 24-pounders. Having spiked these guns, the 
English were about to advance, when a heavy fire of 



ENGLISH yLEET IN CANARY ISLANDS. 241 

musketry and grape-shot from the citadel and from the 
houses at the Mole head began to mow them down by- 
scores. Captain Bowen, of the Terpsichore, and his first 
lieutenant were almost immediately killed, and the whole 
party which landed then were either killed or wounded. 

Meanwhile, Captain Trowbridge, of the Culloden, being 
unable to hit the Mole, the spot appointed for landing, 
pushed on shore under a battery close to the battery to 
the southward of the citadel. 

Captain Waller, of the Emerald, and a few boats with 
him, landed at the same time, but the surf was so high 
that many of the boats put back ; and all that did not 
were filled with water, which spoiled the ammunition in 
the men's pouches. 

Captain Trowbridge advanced as soon as he had 
collected a few men, accompanied by Captain Waller. 
They reached the great square of the town, the appointed 
rendezvous, in hopes of there meeting the Admiral and 
the rest of the landing party ; but we have seen already 
how these were disposed of. 

Captain Trowbridge now sent a sergeant, accompanied 
by two citizens of the place, to summon the citadel to 
surrender. No answer was returned, and the sergeant 
is supposed to have been killed on the way. As the 
scaling ladders which had been brought were lost in the 
surf, there was no way of storming the citadel, and after 
waiting there an hour, Trowbridge went to join Captains 
Hood and Miller, who, with a small body of men, had 
landed to the southwest. At daybreak it was found that 
Trowbridge was in command of about three hundred and 
forty survivors, consisting of marines, pikemen, and seamen 
with small arms. Having procured a small quantity of 
ammunition from some Spanish prisoners whom they had 
taken, Trowbridge resolved to try what could be done 



242 NAVAI. I'.A'ITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

with the citadel without ladders, and then found that the 
streets were commanded by field-pieces, while an over- 
whelming force was approaching them by every avenue. 
The boats being all stove, there was no possibility of 
getting any reinforcements ; they were short of ammu- 
nition, and their provisions had been lost in the boats. 

Trowbridge now sent Captain Hood, with a flag of 
truce, to the Governor, expressing a determination to 
burn the town if the Spanish forces advanced, and 
proposing terms of capitulation, to the following effect: 
that the British should be allowed to re-embark, with 
their arms, taking their own boats, if saved, and if not, to 
be provided with others. And Captain Trowbridge 
engaged, in case of compliance, that the ships then before 
the town should not molest it, nor attack any one of the 
Canary Islands. 

The Governor, Don Juan Antonio Guttlerez, received 
Captain Hood and his message, being considerably 
astonished at receiving such a proposal from men whom 
he considered already in his power. Nevertheless, he 
accorded the terms, and Trowbridge marched to the Mole 
head, where he and his officers and men embarked, in 
boats furnished by the Spaniards. 

The Governor supplied each of the retreating invaders 
with a ration of bread and wine, and directed that the 
British wounded should be received into the hospital. 
He, moreover, sent word to Admiral Nelson that he was 
at liberty to send on shore for, and purchase, fresh pro- 
visions. 

This was a most disastrous defeat for Nelson, inde- 
pendent of the melancholy loss of life, which was almost 
as great as in the battle off Cape St. Vincent. 



BAlTLt: OF CAiMPERDOWN. 



243 



BAHLE OF CAMPERDOWN. iiTH OCTOBER, 
A. D. 1797. 




^ORD VISCOUNT DUNCAN, who won the 
decisive naval battle of Camperdown, under 
rather extraordinary conditions, was born, 
as simple Adam Duncan, in Dundee, Scot- 
land, in 1731 ; so that he was a veteran, as 
well in years as in service, when he gained 
the victory for which he will always be 
remembered. 

As a Lieutenant he had served in the expedition to 
America, in "the French war;" being in the fleet which 
brought Braddock over to meet well earned d(;feat, as 
well as death. He was afterwards distinguished in the 
attack upon Belleisle, and in the capture of Havana. 
In the war of 1778 he was actively employed under 
Rodney. At the first battle of St. Vincent he was in 
command of a ship ; the first to engage ai\d capture a 
70-gun ship. 

After participating in many other actions of importance 
he was made a Rear-Admiral in 1759, a Vice-Admiral in 
1 793, the rank he held at Camperdown, and finally became 
full Admiral in i 799. 

He was a man of great and unaffected piety, and 
excited the wonder and admiration of the Dutch Admiral, 
when a prisoner on board his flag-ship, after Camperdown, 
by summoning his ship's company, and then going down 



244 NAVAL Battles, ancient and modern. 

on his knees and thanking God for the mercy vouchsafed 
them. 

Admiral Duncan had, in 1797, the command of the 
North Sea EntrHsh fleet. But that fleet had been so 
thinned by the secession of the disaffected ships which 
took part in the great mutiny of the Enghsh fleet, in that 
year — called the " Mutiny of the Nore," and the "Mudny 
at Spithead " — that, towards the end of May, he found 
himself at sea with only his own ship (the Venerable, 74) 
and the Adamant, 50. 

It is necessary here to touch upon the causes which 
gave rise to a mutiny which has forever remained a 
disgrace to the Lords of the British Admiralty, and to the 
officers of the fleet servino- under them at that time and 

O 

for a lonof time before. 

Avoiding any speculadons or reflections, we will simply 
quote from a well known writer on naval affairs, Admiral 
Ekins, of the British Navy, who, quoting another writer 
in respect to the state of the British Navy about that time 
says, " in 1 796 and the following years, after the naval 
force became so much expanded, the seamen were 
exceedingly deteriorated by the introduction of a large 
mass of Irish rebels, and the sweepings of all the gaols 
in England, on the home station ; and by as large an 
introduction of foreigners on the stations abroad." 

This writer seems to intend to say, as he goes on, that 
the Irish, many of whom had filled offices of some kind 
at home, had, by plausible ways, acted with great influence 
on the minds of the British seamen whom they found on 
board their ships, and who were certainly suffering, at the 
time, from very oppressive regulations and fraudulent 
practices, 

"These men entirely overturned the whole discipline 
and constitutional temperament of the navy. An honest 



BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN. 24.J 

zeal was changed for gloomy discontent; grievances were 
magnified into oppressions, and the man who had cheer- 
fully executed his subordinate duties, in what he as yet 
considered his proper sphere, now aimed at an equality 
with, or superiority to, his own respected superiors. Thus 
arose the mutiny." 

"After the mutiny, numbers of the Irish were sent to 
foreign stations, as a punishment, and disseminated the 
same spirit." 

The poor Irish ! They have for many generations 
fought the battles of the English, and of several other 
nations, but their case seems more unsettled than before. 
Without a permanent contingent from Irish recruits 
England would be badly off 

To continue with our quotation, "Patrick Little, who 
was Secretary to Parker, the leader of the mutiny of the 
Nore, had been an attorney in Dublin. He was sent to 
the West Indies, and, in a few months, was accused of 
fostering mutiny there. He was not convicted of the full 
offence charged, but was sent to receive six hundred 
lashes, did receive two hundred and fifty, and is said to 
have died, soon after, of the ' prevailing fever.' 

"The ships in the Mediterranean in i 797-98-99, were 
so short of men that foreigners of all descriptions were 
received ; and I have often heard it stated that the fleet 
could not have gone to sea at times, if a certain com- 
missioner at Lisbon, about that period, had not assumed 
the post of head of Police in that Metropolis, and made, 
occasionally, clean sweep of all individuals on the quays 
and adjacent streets, who were sent indiscriminately on 
board the British fleet; from whence none returned who 
were serviceable." 

This British Admiral proceeds to quote, " if the battle 
of the Nile had not been fought under the directing skill 

16 A 



246 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of such a chief, and under all the effects of surprise, I have 
heard Sir Thomas Louis declare that the result might 
have been very different. As it was, the defence was 
much more obstinate than is generally imagined, and 
much more protracted." (In America we have been used 
to read English accounts of the battles of those days, 
because they were written in our own language.) He 
goes on to say, " I have understood it was certainly not 
the superiority of the crews which prevailed. The Van- 
guard was wretchedly manned ; and but for the assistance 
of the Minotaur, which I saw acknowledged in Lord 
Nelson's handwriting, her fate would have been preca- 
rious." 

These remarks are from high English cotemporary 
authority, we must remember. 

In a note, Admiral Ekins says, "at the conclusion of 
the war in 1802, the Victorious, of 74 guns, returned to 
Europe after serving a considerable time in the East 
Indies; but, being in a bad state, from length of service, 
reached no further than Lisbon. She was there broken 
up. Part of her crew were put on board the Amazon, to be 
taken to England to receive their wages and return to 
their homes. But, unfortunately for them, poor fellows, 
before they arrived at Spithead, war had again declared 
itself, and they learned, with tears streaming from their 
eyes, that they were to be detained to serve another war. 
They remained nine or ten years in the Amazon, and 
were then distributed (the Amazon being worn out) to 
other ships. A few of them were afterwards killed serv- 
ing in the boats of the Bacchante, in the Mediterranean. 
Perhaps the whole, certainly the greatest part, of these 
men were originally impressed against their will." 

These are only some authentic instances of the state 
ot the personnel of the British Navy at this time ; and the 



BATTLE OB' CAMPERDOWN. 247 

wonder Is that the officers did so well with such material. 
Men were often nine or ten years without setting foot on 
shore. 

And now to return to Admiral Duncan and his opera- 
tions. Having, as we have said, been left with only the 
Venerable, his flag-ship (a name which reminds us of 
H. M. S. Pinafore), and the Adamant, he nevertheless 
proceeded to his station, off the Texel, to watch ihe 
Dutch, with whom they were then at war. 

In the Texel lay at anchor the Dutch fleet of fifteen 
sail of the line (including 56s), under the command of 
Vice Admiral De Winter. 

In order to detain the latter in port until a reinforce- 
ment should arrive, Admiral Duncan caused repeated 
signals to be made, as if to the main body of his fleet in the 
offing. This stratagem, it was supposed, had the desired 
effect. At length, about the middle of June, several 
line-of-battle-ships, in detached portions, joined the British 
Admiral, and the two fleets were again placed on an equal 
footing. 

The Venerable, having been nearly five months at sea, 
and during a part of the time exposed to very boisterous 
weather, was in want of almost every description of 
stores. Others of the ships had also suffered by the 
recent gales of wind, and were short of provisions. Thus 
circumstanced, the Admiral, on the 3d of October, put 
into Yarmouth roads, to refit and re-victual, leaving off 
the Dutch coast a small squadron of observation, under 
the orders of Captain Trollope, of the Russell. 

Early on the morning of October 9th an armed lugger, 
hired as a despatch vessel, came into the back of Yar- 
mouth sands, with the signal flying for an enemy. 

After great bustle and hurried preparations, Admiraf 
Duncan put to sea, a litde before noon, with eleven sail- 



248 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of-the-line. With a fair wind he steered straight for his 
old station. On the following day three more ships joined 
him ; so that he had seven 74s, and seven 64s, and two 
50-gun frigates. There were also the Beaulieu, 40 ; the 
Circe, 28 ; and the Martin, sloop. 

On the afternoon of the i ith the advanced ships were 
near enough to count twenty-two sail of square-rigged 
vessels, chiefly merchantmen, at anchor in the Texel. 

Admiral Duncan, having received from Captain Trol- 
lope information of what course the enemy's fleet was 
steering, now stood along shore to the southward. 

At about seven on the followino- morninor, the Russell, 
Adamant and Beaulieu were made out in the southwest, 
bearing at their mast-heads the signals for an enemy in 
sight, to leeward ; and at about half-past eight a strange 
fleet, consisting of twenty-one ships and four brigs, made 
its appearance in that quarter. 

The Dutch fleet consisted of four 74s, seven 64s, four 
50s and two 44-gun ships, with two 3 2 -gun frigates, two 
corvettes, four brig-sloops, and two advice-boats. Some 
accounts give more ships than this. Probably there were 
more. 

These vessels, under the command of Vice- Admiral De 
Winter, had quitted the Texel at ten o'clock on the 
morning of the loth of October, with a light breeze at 
about east by north. On the night of that day, the wind 
being then southwest, Captain Trollope's squadron was 
discovered by them, to windward, and immediately chased ; 
but the Dutch ships, being dull sailers, did not come near 
him. The Dutch fleet then stretched out toward the 
Meuse flat, where Admiral De Winter expected to be 
joined by a 64-gun ship. Not meeting her, he stood on 
10 the westward, followed, or rather, as the wind was, 
preceded, by Captain Trollope's squadron. 



BATTLE OF CAMPlTRDOWN. 240 

The wind continued westerly during the three succeed- 
ing days, and prevented the Dutch fleet from getting 
abreast of Lowestoffe until the evening of the loth. The 
extreme darkness of that night induced Admiral De 
Winter to detach a few of his best saiHng ships, in 
hopes that they would be enabled, by daybreak, to 
get to windward of, and capture or chase away. 
Captain Trollope's squadron, which had followed them 
with great pertinacity. Just as the ships had made sail 
for that purpose some friendly merchant ships came 
into the fleet, and informed Admiral De Winter that the 
English fleet was within thirty miles of him, in the north- 
northwest, and steering east by south. The detached 
ships were instandy recalled; and the Dutch fleet, as soon 
as formed in compact order, edged away, with the wind 
northwest, towards Camperdown, the appointed place of 
rendezvous. 

At daylight on the nth the Dutch fleet was about 
thirty miles off the village of Schevenlngen, in loose, order, 
and speaking a friendly convoy, from which additional 
information was obtained. 

At this time the English squadron of observation was 
seen to windward, with numerous signals flying, which 
convinced Admiral De Winter that the Endish fleet was 
m sight. He accordingly ordered his ships to their 
stations, and to facilitate the junction of the ships most 
to leeward, stood towards the land. The Wykerdens 
bearing east, about twenty miles off, the Dutch fleet 
hauled to the wind, on the starboard tack, and shordy 
afterwards discovered Admiral Duncan's fleet in the 
north-northwest. The Dutch fleet then tacked, and, as 
soon as a close line was formed In the direction of north- 
east and southwest, the Dutch ships, throwing their main 



250 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

top-sails aback, resolutely awaited the approach of the 
British fleet. 

Owing chiefly to Inequality in point of sailing among 
the British ships, their fleet, when that of the Dutch 
appeared in sight, was in very loose order. To enable the 
dull sailers to take their proper stations. Admiral Duncan, 
at about eleven a.m., brought to, on the starboard tack; 
but soon afterwards observing that the Dutch ships were 
drawing fast inshore, he made signal for each ship to 
engage her opponent in the enemy's line ; then to bear 
up ; and, lastly, for the van to attack the enemy's rear. 
At about half-past eleven, the centre of the Dutch line 
then bearing southeast, distant four or five miles, the 
British fleet bore down, but, owing to some of the ships 
not yet being up, In no regular order of battle. Some 
were stretching across to get into their stations ; others 
seemed In doubt where to go ; and others, again, were 
pushing for the thickest of the enemy, without regard to 
stations. 

A little before noon Admiral Duncan made slo-nal that 
he should pass through the enemy's line and engage him 
to leeward. This signal appears to have been kept flying 
but a short time, and the weather was so thick that the 
ships generally did not make it out. It was replaced by 
one for close action, which was kept flying for an hour 
and a half; till, indeed, it was shot away. About half-past 
twelve Vice- Admiral Onslow, whose ship, the Monarch, 
was leading the advanced or port division of the British 
fleet, cut through the Dutch line, between the Haerlem, 
64, and the Jupiter, 74 ; pouring into each, in passing, a 
well-directed broadside. Then the Monarch, leaving the 
Haerlem to the Powerful, which followed her, luffed up 
close alongside the Jupiter, and these two ships became 
warmly engaged. The Jupiter carried the flag of Vice- 



BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN. 251 

Admiral Reyntjes. The rounding to of the Monarch 
afforded the Dutch Monnikendam frigate and Atalanta 
brig, which were in shore and in the rear, an opportunity 
to rake the English ship several times ; and the very 
plucky little brig, In particular, did not retire until she had 
been much damaged by the Monarch's shot. It was 
supposed she had been sunk by the 74, but she arrived 
safely, after the battle, in a Dutch port. The remaining 
ships of the English port division, especially the Mon- 
mouth, 64, and the Russell, 74, were soon in action with 
the Dutch rear-ships ; among the last of which to 
surrender was the Jupiter, 74, the first to be engaged. 

About twenty minutes after the Monarch, with Vlce- 
Admiral Onslow's flag, had broken the Dutch line, 
Duncan's flag-ship, the Venerable, frustrated In an attempt 
to pass astern of the Vryheid, 74, De Winter's flag-ship, 
by the great promptness of the States-General, 74, in 
closing the interval, ran under the stern of the latter, and 
soon compelled her to bear up ; and the Triumph, the 
Venerable's second astern, found herself closely engaged 
with the Wassenaer, the second astern to the States- 
General. Meanwhile the Venerable had ranged up close 
on the lee side of her first intended antagonist, the 
Vryheid, with whom, on the other side, the Ardent was 
also warmly engaged, and in front, the Belford, as she 
cut through the line astern of the Dutch Gelykheld, 64. 
The Dutch ships Brutus, 74, Rear-Admiral Bloys, and the 
Leyden, 64, and Mars, 44, not being pressed upon by 
opponents, advanced to the succor of their closely beset 
Admiral, and did considerable damage to the Venerable, 
as well as the Ardent, and others of the British van ships. 
Just at this critical period the Hercules, 64, which ship 
had caught fire on the poop, bore up and fell out of line, 
drifting down very near the Venerable. 



252 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Although, to the surprise of every one, the Dutch crew 
managed to extinguish the flames, yet, having thrown 
overboard their powder, they were obhged to surrender 
the ship, which had already had her mizzen-mast shot 
away, to the first opponent which challenged her. The 
serious damages which the Venerable had sustained 
obliged her to haul off and wear round on the starboard 
tack. Seeing this, the Triumph, which had compelled 
the Wassenaer to strike, approached to help finish the 
Vryheid; but that very gallant ship still made a good 
defence. At length, after being pounded at by the 
Venerable, Triumph, Ardent and Director, her three masts 
fell over the side, and disabled her starboard guns, when 
the overmatched but heroic Vryheid dropped out of the 
line of batde, an ungovernable hulk, and struck her colors. 

A curious incident occurred in re^rard to the Wassenaer, 
64, which, we have just seen, was compelled by the 
English Triumph, 74, to strike her colors, and fall out of 
the line. One of the Dutch brigs followed her, and fired 
at her, persistendy, undl she re-hoisted her colors. The 
Russel, 74, soon came up, however, and compelled the 
unfortunate Wassenaer again to strike to her. With the 
surrender of Admiral De Winter's ship the acdon ceased, 
and the English found themselves in possession of the 
Vryheid and Jupiter, 74s, Devries, Gelykheid, Haerlem, 
Hercules and Wassenaer, 64s, Alkmaar and Delft, 50s, 
and the frigates Monnikendam and Ambuscade. The 
first of these frigates had been engaged by the Mon- 
mouth, 64, and was finally taken possession of by the 
Beaulieu, a 40-gun frigate of the English. 

The Dutch van ship, the Beschermer, 50, dreading, 
very naturally, so strong an opponent as the Lancaster, 
64, had early wore, and fallen out of the line. Her 
example was followed, with much less reason, by several 



BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN. 253 

of the other Dutch ships, which, although seen making 
off, could not be pursued, on account of the nearness of 
the land, and the shallowness of the water. The 
Venerable at this time sounded, and found only nine 
fathoms, and the shore, under their lee, which was that be- 
tween Camperdown and Egmont, and about thirty miles 
northwest of Amsterdam, was only about five miles off 

The British ships now hastened to secure their prizes, 
so that they might, before nightfall, work clear of this 
dangerous coast. 

The appearance of the victorious British fleet was very 
different from that which generally presented itself after 
a battle with the French or the Spaniards. Not a single 
lower mast, not even a topmast, in the British fleet, was 
shot away. Nor were the sails and rigging of the latter 
very much damaged. 

It was at the hulls of their adversaries that the sturdy 
Dutchmen had directed their shot, and they did not fire 
until they were so near that no shot could well miss. All 
the English ships had shot sticking in their sides ; many 
were pierced by them in all directions, and some of them 
had such dangerous wounds between wind and water that 
their pumps had to be kept going briskly. The Ardent 
had received about one hundred round shot in her hull ; 
the Belliqueux, Belford, Venerable and Monarch had 
nearly as many. But the latter ship was so untouched 
aloft, that when her top-sail sheets, which had been shot 
away, were spliced and hauled home, no one looking at 
her from a little distance would have believed she had 
been in action. 

With such fire, directed almost exclusively at the hulls, 
even by the feeble guns of that day, the loss of men could 
not be otherwise than severe. The British loss was 203 
killed, and 622 wounded. 



254 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The captured ships were all either dismasted outright, 
or so injured in their masts that most of the latter fell as 
soon as the wind and sea, during the passage to England, 
began to act powerfully upon them. The Dutch ships' 
hulls were also terribly cut up, and were so damaged as 
mostly to be brought into port to be exhibited as trophies, 
and then broken up. 

Their loss was proportionately severe. The Dutch 
Vice-Admiral and the two Rear-Admirals were all 
wounded. Vice-Admiral Reyntjes died in London soon 
after, not of his wound, but of a chronic disease. Captain 
Holland, of the Wassenaer. was killed early in the action, 
which may account, partially, for her not holding out 
longer. Admiral De Winter's captain. Van Rossem, had 
his thigh carried away by a round shot, and died almost 
immediately. 

Many other Dutch officers were killed and wounded, 
and their loss, including that on board the Monnikendam 
frigate, which was not in the line, was 540 killed, and 620 
wounded. 

The actual force of the two fleets in this battle was, 
according to English accounts — not always very reliable 
at that time — 

British. Dutch. 

Ships 16 16' 

Guns 1,150 1,034 

Agg. weight of metal, lbs.... 11,501 9>857 

Crews 8,221 7,175 

Size, tons 23,601 20,937 

It is fair to say that the Dutch had several frigates and 
brigs abreast the intervals in their line, which did good 
service, raking die English ships as they came through 
and luffed up to leeward of the enemy's line. 

As it was, Admiral Duncan met and fought the Dutch 



BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN. 255 

fleet before a 98- and two 74-gun ships which De Winter 
had expected could join him. 

Admiral De Winter, in his official report of the action, 
attributed his failure to four causes: first, the superiority 
of the British in large ships; secondly, their having been 
together at sea for many weeks, and hence well accus- 
tomed to work together ; thirdly, the advantage of the 
attack, and fourthly, the early retreat of some of his 
ships, and the bad sailing of some of the others. He 
also expressed his belief that, if his signals had been 
obeyed as prompdy as Admiral Duncan's were, some of 
the English fleet would have been brought into the Texel, 
instead of the Dutch ships going to England. His state- 
ment about the English ships being so long together 
was not altogether correct. Captain Williamson, of the 
English ship Agincourt, 64, was court-martialed for his 
conduct in this action. He was accused of disobedience 
of signals and failure to go into action ; and also, on a 
second charge, of cowardice or disaffection. The first 
charge was found proved, but not the second, and Wil- 
liamson received a very severe sentence. It was proved 
on this trial that some of Admiral Duncan's 'leet did 
not know other ships in the same fleet. In th^ great 
fleet actions of those days, between ships-of-the line. It 
was not customary for frigates and smaller ships Vo fire, 
or to be fired at, unless they provoked It; and the Dutch 
frigates, corvettes and brigs formed in this action a .sec- 
ond line, and fought well. The Dutch were. Indeed, an 
enemy not to be despised, and Admiral Duncan did full 
justice to the determined way In which most of them 
fought. 

Scarcely was the British fleet, with Its prizes, pointed to 
the westward, when a gale of wind came on, which scat- 
tered and endangered the whole of them. The injured 



25(5 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

masts fell, and the vessels leaked through shot-holes 
which in any ordinary weather would have been above 
the reach of the water. 

On the 13th, the Delft, 50, a prize, exhibited a board 
with the words chalked on it "The ship is sinking." 
Assistance was sent, and most of the men removed; but 
several of the prize crew and many of the prisoners 
perished in her, so quickly did she founder. 

The Monnikendam frigate was wrecked on a shoal ; 
bujt all on board were saved ; and the Ambuscade frigate, 
being driven on the Dutch coast, was recaptured. One 
by one the rest of the scattered fleet and the prizes 
reached English ports. 

Admiral Duncan was made a peer, and Vice-Admiral 
Onslow a baronet, for this action. Gold medals were 
presented to the flag-officers and captains; and the thanks 
of Parliament were voted to the fleet. 

We often realize more of the real spirit of a fight from 
private accounts and comments than from the official 
reports ; and we, therefore, add a few remarks and 
anecdotes from such sources. In the first place, the 
promptitude and decision of Admiral Duncan on meeting 
the Dutch fleet is especially to be noticed. "The British 
Admiral soon perceived that if he waited to form his line 
(the enemy drawing fast In with the land) there would 
be no action." He, therefore, hoisted the signal to make 
all sail, break the line, and engage the enemy to leeward; 
and for close action, which last signal flew until it was 
shot away. This signal could not be mistaken, and, 
coupled with the gallant Admiral's example, superseded 
all former ones. 

If further proof of the superior efficacy of such a mode 
of attack be wanting, it is to be found not only in the 
declaration of the brave Dutch Admiral, but also In the 



BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN. 257 

testimony of Lord Nelson, who, although not acquainted 
with Lord Duncan, wrote to him, after the battle of the 
Nile, to tell him how " he had profited by his example." 

The Dutch Admiral De Winter said, " Your not waitine 
to form a line ruined me ; if I had got nearer to the 
shore, and you had attacked, I should probably have 
drawn both fleets on, and it would have been a victory 
to me, being on my own coast." 

It is a fact that many of the vessels of Admiral Dun- 
can's fleet were intended for Indiamen, and not so stoutly 
built as men-of-war usually are ; and many of his ships 
were in bad condition, and had not had time to complete 
their stores when called away from Yarmouth Roads to 
encounter the enemy. 

Among other incidents of this action, it is recorded 
that, when the main-top-gallant mast of the Venerable 
was shot away, a seaman named Crawford went aloft with 
another flag, and hammer and nails, and nailed the flag 
to the topmast- head. 

Had Duncan's fleet been of as good material as that 
of Lord St. Vincent, it is probable that every Dutch ship 
would have been taken. When the action ceased the 
English fleet were in only nine fathoms of water, and a 
severe gale was nearly upon them ; and the wonder is 
that they saved themselves and so many of their prizes, 
in their battered condition. 

Captain Inglis, of the Belliqueux, of 64 guns, owing 
either to a long absence from active service, or an inapt- 
itude to the subject, sometimes apparent in sea officers, 
had neglected to make himself a competent master of the 
signal-book, and on the morning of the day of the battle, 
when it became necessary to act with promptitude in 
obedience to signals, found himself more puzzled than 
enlightened by it, and, throwing it with contempt upon 



2.jS naval battles, ancient and modern. 

the deck, exclaimed, In broad Scotch: "D — n me, up 
wi' the helhim, and gang intil the middle o't!" 

In this manner he bravely anticipated the remedy in 
such cases provided by Nelson, who, in his celebrated 
"Memorandum," observes that, "when a captain shoulel 
hQ at a loss he cannot do very wrong if he lay his ship 
alongside of the enemy." 

In strict conformity with this doctrine the Belliqueux 
^ot herself very roughly treated by the van of the Dutch 
fleet. 



BATTLE OF THE NILE, 25U 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. iST. AUGUST, 1798. 




HIS battle is called by the French AboiJar, 
the name of the bay in which it took place, 
and it is really a 'more proper name for 
the action, as only a small mouth of the 
Nile opened into the bay. 

Beside the ercat navai action, Aboukir 
has given its name to a bloody and de- 
cisive land batde, which took place July 
25th, 1 799, between the French and a Turkish army. We 
may dispose of the latter briefly before taking up the 
more important sea fight, although in point of dme the 
latter precedes it a year. 

Bonaparte having learned of the landing of a Turkish 
army of 1 8,000 infantry at Aboukir, advanced to attack 
them, at the head of only about 6000 men. The Turks, 
who were mosdy Janissaries, had a very considerable 
force of ardllery, and were in part commanded by Eng- 
lish officers. Being strongly intrenched at the village oi 
Aboukir, they should have beaten off the French force 
easily; but, at the word of command from Bonaparte, 
Generals D'Estaing, Murat and Lannes attacked the en- 
trenchments with desperate courage, and, after a terrible 
fight, which lasted some hours, the Turks were fairly 
driven into the sea. Thousands of bodies floated upon 
the bay, which the year before had borne the corpses of 
so many French sailors, who had perished from gun-shot 



260 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCTtfNT AND MODERlT. 

or by fire. Perhaps for the first time in the history of 
modern warfare, an army was entirely destroyed. 

It was on this occasion that Kleber, at the close of the 
fighting, seized Bonaparte in his arms, and embracing 
him, exclaimed : " General, you are the greatest man in 
the world ! " 

A year previous to the event just recorded, while 
Bonaparte was occupied in organizing his new conquest 
of Egypt, fortune was preparing for him one of the most 
terrible reverses which the French arms had ever met, 
by sea or by land. 

What must have made it harder for him to bear was, 
that when leaving Alexandria to go to Cairo he had very 
strongly recommended Admiral Brueys, who commanded 
the fleet which had brought him to Egypt, not to remain 
at the anchorage of Aboukir, where the English could, he 
thought, take him at a disadvantage. In fact, Napoleon's 
military mind foresaw just what afterwards happened. 

Brueys at first thought of taking his fleet to Corfu, but 
lost precious time in waiting for news from Cairo, and 
this delay brought on the disaster which had a very 
Important Influence in moulding the destiny, not only of 
Egypt, but of the whole of Europe. 

Learning of the departure of a large body of troops, 
and of a strong fleet, from Toulon, but In entire Ignorance 
of the object of their expedition. Nelson, after vainly 
seeking for them In the Archipelago, In the Adriatic, at 
Naples, and on the coasts of Sicily, at last learned with 
certainty that they had effected a landing In Egypt. He 
made all sail at once for Alexandria, determined to fight 
the French fleet the moment It was found, and wherever 
it micrht be. He found it at Aboukir bay, just to the 
eastward of Alexandria, on the ist of August, 1798; and 
we shall now give a general sketch of what ensued, and 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 261 

after that the particulars of this important action — from 
both French and English sources. 

Although it was nearly six o'clock in the evening when 
the French fleet was discovered, Nelson resolved to attack 
immediately. 

Admiral Brueys' fleet was moored In the bay, which 
forms a pretty regular semicircle, and had arranged his 
thirteen ships-of-the-line in a curved line, parallel with 
the shore ; having upon his left, or western flank, a litde 
island, called also Aboukir. . 

Thinking it impossible that a ship-of-the-line could pass 
between this island and the last ship of his line, to take 
him in the rear, he contented himself with establishing 
upon the island a battery of tvrelve or fourteen guns ; 
thinking, indeed, that part of his position so litde liable 
to attack that h? placed his worst vessels there. 

But with an adversary like Nelson, most formidable, 
not only for the brilliancy of his conceptions, but for the 
skillful audacity with which he carried them out, the pre- 
cautions which under ordinary circumstances would have 
been sufficient proved of no avail. 

The Bridsh fleet comprised the same number of line- 
of-batde-ships as the French, but the latter had more 
smaller ships. 

The British Admiral advanced intrepidly to the attack; 
a portion of his ships taking a course between the French 
line and the coast. The Culloden, the leading English 
ship, ran upon a shoal, and stuck fast; but, although her 
batteries were thus thrown out of the engagement which 
followed, her mishap piloted the others in. The Goliath, 
the Audacious, the Theseus and the Orion succeeded in 
passing Inside the French line ; penetrating as far as the 
Tonnant, which was the eighth of the French line, and 
latxs engaged the French centre and left. 

17 A 



262 NAVAJ. BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The rest of the English fleet advanced outside the 
French line, and so put the left and centre of it between 
two fires. 

The battle was a terrible one, especially at the French 
centre, where the French Admiral's ship, L'Orient, was 
stationed. The Bellerophon, one of Nelson's best ships, 
was dismasted, terribly cut up, and obliged to haul off; 
and other English ships so damaged that they were 
obliged to withdraw. 

In spite of the success of Nelson's grand manoeuvre, 
Brueys still had some chance of success, if the orders 
which he gave to his right, or eastern, wing had been 
carried out. But Admiral \'illeneuve, who commanded 
there, did not make out Brueys' signals, and remained in 
his position, at anchor, instead of getting under way, and 
doubling upon the English outside line, ^\4lich woidd have 
thus put the latter, in their turn, between two fires. 

Nelson's ready mind had foreseen this danger; but 
Villeneuve, who was to lose another even more import- 
ant battle at Trafalgar, lacked the instinctive resolution 
which causes a second in command, under such circum- 
stances, to hasten to the relief of his chief, without formal 
orders. 

Like Grouchy at Waterloo, he heard and saw the 
cannonade which was destroying the centre and left of 
the French line, without coming to the rescue ; and 
while that part of the French fleet was performing prodi- 
gies of valor to uphold the honor of their flag, Villeneuve 
escaped, with four ships-of-the-line, thinking himself 
praiseworthy in saving them from the fate of the rest. 

The unfortunate Brueys, though wounded, would not 
leave the deck. "An Admiral ought to die giving his 
orders," he is reported, on good authority, to have said. 
Not long after this jpeech another shot killed him. The 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 263 

brave Captain Dupetit-Thouars had both legs carried 
away, but, Hke the Admiral, would not leave the deck, 
but remained there, taking snuff, and coolly directing 
operations, until another shot struck and killed him. 

In fact, acts of heroism were performed by many of 
the officers and men on both sides. 

About eleven o'clock at nio^ht the Orient, a huee and 
magnificent vessel, blew up, with a terrible explosion. By 
this time all the French vessels were destroyed or ren- 
dered worthless, except the four carried off by Villeneuve, 
and Nelson's fleet was In no condition to pursue them. 

Such, In brief, was the celebrated battle of Aboukir, or 
the Nile, the most disastrous the French navy had ever 
fought, and the military consequences of which were of 
such immense importance. It shut up the French and 
their army In Egypt, and abandoned them to their own 
resources. 

France lost, and England gained, ascendancy in the 
Levant, and what was worse, it destroyed the morale of 
the French navy — the effects being seen for years, and 
especially at Trafalgar. 

And now we will proceed to give a more detailed ac- 
count of the action. 

Nelson's fleet arrived off Alexandria on the mornlne of 
the I st of August, at about lo o'clock. They found there 
a forest of masts — belonging to transports and troop- 
ships, but few men-of-war. The harbor did not permit 
of the entrance of such large ships as composed the 
French line. The two British look-out ships, the Alex- 
ander and Swiftsure, also found the French flag flying on 
the forts and walls. 

About noon the Zealous, which ship had been looking 
further to the eastward (just as the Pharos tower of 
Alexandria bore south-southwest, distant about 20 miles), 



264 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

signaled that sixteen ships-of-the-line lay at anchor, in 
line of battle, in a bay upon her port bow. 

The British fleet instantly hauled up, steering to the 
eastward, under top-gallant sails, with a fine breeze from 
the northward and westward. These ships were in good 
discipline, and it did not take them long to clear for 
action. 

Let us now turn to the French fleet, which they were 
soon to encounter. On the ist of July, Admiral Brueys, 
with his fleet, brought to off the old port of Alexandria, 
and at once learned that a British squadron had been 
looking for him there. On hearing this. General Bonaparte 
desired to be landed, and the Admiral at once proceeded 
to disembark the General and 6000 men, in a creek near 
Marabout Castle, about six miles from the city of Alex- 
andria. 

Between the ist and the 6th of July all the troops, 
with their baggage, were landed ; and six vessels, armed 
enJliUe, went into Alexandria harbor, to protect the trans- 
ports. As the ships-of-the-line drew too much water to 
enter, Admiral Brueys, with three frigates and 1 3 sail-of- 
the-line, stood off and proceeded to Aboukir bay, about 
1 5 miles to the eastward of Alexandria. Reaching the 
bay, he anchored his ships very judiciously, in line ahead, 
about one hundred and sixty yards (Engl.) from each 
other, with the van-ship close to a shoal in the northwest, 
and the whole of the line just outside a four-fathom bank. 
It was thus considered that an enemy could not turn 
either flank. 

The French ships, beginning at the van, were ranged 
in the following order: Guerrier, Conquerant, Spartiate, 
Aquilon, Peuple-Souverain (all 74's), the Franklin, 80, 
Rear- Admiral Blanquet, second in command ; Orient, 1 20, 
(formerly called the Sans Culotte, and the flag-ship of 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 265 

Admiral Brueys, Rear-Admlral Gauteaume and Captain 
Casa-Bianca); next the Tonnant, 80; the Heureux, 74; 
the Mercure, 74; the Guillaume Tell, 80, and the Gener- 
eux and Timoleon, both 74's. 

Having thus moored his fleet in a strong position, the 
French Admiral awaitf^d the issue of General Bonaparte's 
operations on shore. 

He also erected the battery already spoken of on 
Aboukir island, and four frigates — the Diane, Justice, 
Artemise and Serieuse, with four brigs and several gun- 
boats, were stationed along the bank, inside, or at the 
flanks of the line, so as best to annoy an enemy in his 
approach. 

Yet Admiral Brueys appears to have been taken, at 
last, rather by surprise. No doubt the short interval 
which had elapsed between the departure of a reconnoit 
ring fleet and the arrival of another led him to the 
belief that the English were aware of the proximity of 
the French fleet, and for want of sufficient strength de- 
clined to attack it. So that, when the Heureux, at 2 p. u. 
of the I St of August, made the signal for a fleet in the 
northwest, the French ships were still lying at single 
anchor, without springs on their cables ; and many of the 
crew of each ship were on shore, getting water. These 
were at once recalled; and some of the men of the frigates 
were sent to reinforce the crews of the largest vessels. 
The latter crossed top-gallant yards, as if about to get 
under way, but the French Admiral thought that his 
enemy would never attack at night, in such a position, 
and so he remained at anchor. When Nelson's move- 
ments undeceived him, he ordered the ships to let go 
another bower anchor, and another one to be carried out 
to the S. S. E.; but very few of his ships found time to do 
either. 



266 NAVAL BATTLES, A^CIENT AND I^IODERN. 

Before the English fleet approached the bay, each ship 
got a cable out of a gun-room port, and bent it to an 
anchor, and prepared springs, to give requisite bearing 
to her broadside. This was to enable the ships to anchor 
by the stern, in the best position for attacking the enemy, 
and for supporting each other. 

As the British approached the bay, two French brigs 
stood out to reconnoitre, and one of them, the Alerte, 
stretched towards the shoal which lies off Aboukir island, 
in tire hope that one or more of the English would follow 
her, and get on shore. But this 7'iLse de guen'e was 
disregarded, and the English fleet stood on. 

About half-past five the signal was made to form in 
line of battle, ahead and astern of the Admiral, as most 
convenient. By a little after six, in spite of some confu- 
sion from a new order of sailing, the line was pretty well 
formed, and eleven of the ships had rounded the shoal 
at the western side of the bay, and, with the wind on the 
starboard quarter, were rapidly approaching the French. 
The Culloden was astern of the rest; and far astern of 
the Culloden were the Alexander and Swiftsure, all three 
making every effort to get up into line. 

At about twenty minutes past six the French hoisted 
their colors, and their two van ships, the Guerrier and 
Conquerant, opened a fire upon the two leading English 
ships, the Goliath and Zealous. The guns in the battery 
on the island also opened now, and fired also on the 
other ships, as they rounded the shoal. They ceased to 
fire, however, after the engagement became close, for fear 
of injuring their own van ships. 

Soon the Goliath crossed the bows of the Guerrier, and 
ranging past her, let go her stern anchor, and brought 
up abreast of the small opening between the Conquerant 
and Spartiate. As she passed she kept up a spirited fire 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 267 

upon the two van ships, as well as engaging', from the 
other battery, a mortar-brig and a frigate, nearly abeam. 

The Zealous, close astern of the Goliath, came in and 
anchored abreast the inner or port bow of the Guerrier, 
the French van ship. The English Vanguard and Mino- 
taur then making for the starboard side of the enemy's 
line, left the Theseus to follow the Zealous. This she 
did, passing between the latter and her opponent, and 
along past the Goliath, anchoring directly ahead of the 
latter, and, within two cables' length of the Spartiate's 
beam. The Orion, having passed inshore of the Zealous 
and Goliath, found herself assailed by the Serieuse frigate, 
anchored inshore. As soon as the Orion's starboard 
guns would bear, she opened on the frigate, and dismasted 
and sunk her in a few minutes ; but she was in such shoal 
water that her upper works were dry. Passing on, the 
Orion passed the Theseus, and dropped her bower, so 
that she swung with her bows towards the Theseus. 
Then she veered away until between the Peuple Souverain 
and the Franklin, firing into the port bow of the latter and 
the port quarter of the former. 

The Audacious, having from the outside cut the open- 
ing between the Guerrier and the Conquerant, came to, 
with a small bower, and opened upon the Conquerant, at 
only about forty yards' distance. In a feM'- minutes the 
Audacious swung round the Conquerant's bows, and 
brought up, head to wind, within about the same distance 
of her, on the port side. 

Nelson had wisely resolved to complete the capture - /r 
destruction of the French van ships before he made any 
attempt upon those in the rear. He knew that the latter^ 
from their leeward situation, would be unable to afford 
any immediate support to the former. 

So, as the first step, the Vanguard anchored abreast of 



268 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the Spartiate, within half pistol-shot, on her starboard 
side. The Minotaur anchored next ahead of the Van- 
guard, opposed to the Aquilon; and the Defence, still on 
the outer English line, brought up abreast of the Peuple 
Souverain. The Bellerophon and Majestic passed on to 
close with the French centre and rear, on the outside. 

These eight British and five French ships should be 
followed by themselves in their action. 

The Guerrier receiving a raking broadside from each 
English ship which passed her bows, and a succession of 
the same from the judiciously placed Zealous, lost all 
three masts and bowsprit in a quarter of an hour, without 
being able to bring enough guns to bear to seriously 
damage any of her antagonists. 

The French apparently did not expect any action on 
the port side, and were not prepared in that battery. 
The knowledge that French and Spanish ships seldom 
cleared for action on both sides, and also that the French 
must have allowed themselves room to swing, in the event 
of the wind's blowing directly on shore, induced the Eng- 
lish to pass between them and the shore, especially as the 
English ships generally drew less water, and thus all fear 
of getting aground was dispelled. The unfortunate 
Guerrier, having been completely cut to pieces, and 
having most of her crew disabled, was forced to strike. 

The Conquerant, besides receiving fire from the ships 
which ran by her, had to withstand a portion of the fire 
of the Theseus, and all that of the Goliath and the Auda- 
cious, the latter, for a time, in a raking position. At the 
end of about twelve minutes, being dismasted, and from 
her position unable to make a suitable return fire, the 
Conquerant hauled down her flag. She struck, indeed, 
before the Guerrier did. In doing this the Goliath and 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 269 

Audacious were considerably damaged, principally in 
spars and rigging. 

Next we come to the Spartiate. She sustained, for 
some time, the fire of both the Theseus and the Vanguard, 
with occasional shots from the quarter guns of the Auda- 
cious and the bow guns of the Minotaur. Her masts 
were soon shot away, and she surrendered at about the 
same time as the Guerrier. 

The Aquilon, astern of the Spartiate, had a slanting, 
position in the line, and made a good fight, raking the 
Vaneuard with dreadful effect, but was at last overcome 

o 

by the batteries of the Minotaur. The Vanguard was 
very much injured. The unusually powerful broadside 
of tlie Minotaur (she being the only ship in either fleet 
which had 32-pounders in the upper battery), aided by 
the occasional fire of the Theseus, within the line, soon 
dismasted the Aquilon, and compelled her surrender. 
This occurred about half-past nine. 

Next we come to the Peuple Souverain. She was sub- 
jected to the close and well-sustained fire of the Defence, 
and occasional rakinor broadsides from the Orion, as the 
latter ship lay on the Peuple Souverain's inner quarter, 
This ship, having had her fore and main masts shot 
away, and being, in other respects, greatly disabled, cut 
her cable and dropped out of the French line, anchoring 
again abreast of the Orient, and about two cables' 
leno-th from her. 

. The fore-top-mast of the Peuple Souverain's opponent, 
the Defence, fell over the side just as the French ship had 
ceased firing and quitted the line. The Defence then 
veered away on her cable, and brought up on the outef 
or starboard bow of the Franklin. * The Defence's three 
lower masts and bowsprit were tottering, in consequence 
of the fire of the Peuple Souverain ; and both hull and 



2T0 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

masts of the Minotaur were very much damaged by the 
fire of the Aquilon. But of the eight Br"tish ships whose 
conduct we have detailed, the Defence was the only one 
who had actually had spars to fall. The order in which 
the five French van ships surrendered appears to have 
been thus ; ist. Conquerant; Guerrierand Spartiate next, 
and at the same time; then the Aquilon; and lastly, the 
Peuple Souverain. 

In order to lessen the confusion of a night attack, and 
to prevent the British vessels from firing into each other, 
every ship had been directed to hoist at her mizzen-peak 
four lights horizontally. The English fieet also went into 
action with the white, or St. George's ensign (at this day 
used exclusively by the British Navy), the red cross in 
the centre of which rendered it easily distinguishable, in 
the darkest night, from the tri-colored flag of the French. 
At about seven o'clock the lights made their appearance 
throughout the fleet; and it was at about the same time 
that the Bellerophon dropped her stern anchor so as to 
bring up abreast, instead of on the bow, of the French 
three-decker. In a very few minutes afterwards the 
English Majestic brought up abreast of the Tonnant, and 
soon lost her captain by that ship's heavy fire. Subse- 
quently, on this dreadful night, when the Tonnant cut 
her cable, to keep clear of the Orient, the Majestic slipped 
Jicr cable, to keep clear of the hawse of her consort, the 
Heureux. The Majestic then let go her best bower 
anchor, and again brought up, head to wind. She now 
had the Tonnant on her port bow, and the Heureux on 
her starboard quarter. 

The Swiftsure, of the English fleet, having passed the 
Alexander, when the latter tacked to avoid Aboukir 
shoal, now came crowding up. At about 8 o'clock she 
anchored by the stern, judiciously placing herself on the 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 271 

Starboard bow of the Orient, and on the starboard quarter 
of the Frankhn; while, into the port bow of the latter 
ship, the Leander, having taking an admirable position in 
the vacant space left by the Peuple Souverain, poured 
several broadsides which had no response. The Leander 
would have been much earlier in action, but for having 
hove to, to try to assist the Culloden. 

Almost immediately after, the Alexander passed 
through the wide opening which the driving of the Ton- 
nant had left, and dropped her bower anchor, so as to 
bring her starboard broadside to bear on the port quarter 
of the Orient. 

Until the Leander took up a position inside of the 
Orion, the latter had been firing into the Franklin, and 
the Minotaur was also occasionally firing at the Frank- 
lin. But after the Peuple Souverain quitted*the line, the 
Franklin was engaged almost entirely with the Defence. 
The fight was thus going on, most intrepidly on both 
sides, when an event occurred which seemed to appall 
every one, and suspended, for a time, the hostile opera- 
tions of the two fleets. 

From the moment that the Bellerophon had, with so 
much more gallantry than judgment, stationed herself 
alongside the huge Orient, a heavy cannonade had been 
kept up between the two ships. So decidedly was it to 
the disadvantage of the English ship, the Bellerophon, 
that her mizen, and then her main mast, were cut away, 
doing much damage in their fall. 

At about nine o'clock a fire was observed on board the 
Orient. To those on board the Bellerophon it appeared 
to be on the second deck ; while to those on board the 
Swiftsure it appeared to be in the French flagship's 
mizzen chains. The origin of the accident has been vari- 
ously explained. By some it is said to be due to paint- 



272 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

pots, oil and other combustibles In the chains. Others 
decided that It was due to premature Ignition of combust- 
ibles arranged by the French to burn the English ships. 
The truth will never be known now. At any rate, all of 
the Swiftsure's oruns which would bear were directed to 
fire upon the seat of combustion. It was soon evident 
that they were firing with precision — for the French could 
not approach the spot. The Bellerophon, much dam- 
aged by her powerful opponent, and fearing fire for her- 
self, now cut her stern cable, loosed her sprit-sail, and 
wore clear of the Orient's guns. The Orient was keep- 
ing up a splendid and uninterrupted fire from the first 
deck in particular, even after the upper part of the ship 
was entirely Involved in flames. Scarcely had the 
Bellerophon effected her escape when her foremast fell 
over her p(frt bow, killing a lieutenant and several men 
by its fall. The fact that the Bellerophon could thus 
drop clear shows that the French line continued to lay 
head to the wind, although many statements to the con- 
trary were made. 

At about ten the Orient blew up, with a tremendous 
explosion, which seemed, for the time, to paralyze every 
one, in both fleets. It must have been an awful sight, of 
which description would fall short; for certainly, no vessel 
of such a size had blown up before, and none so large 
has blown up since. The effect produced upon the adja- 
cent ships was different. The Alexander, Swiftsure and 
Orion, the three nearest English ships, had made every 
preparation for the event which they saw was inevitable. 
They closed their ports and hatchways, removed from 
their decks all cartridges and combustible material, and 
had their firemen ready, with buckets and pumps. The 
shock of the explosion shook the ships to their very 
keelsons, opened their seams, and did considerable other 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 273 

mjury. A flaming mass flew over the Swiftsure, Some 
burning fragments fell into her tops, but the wise action 
of her commander in not hauling further off probably 
saved her. A part of the blazing mass fell on board the 
Alexander, much further off than the Swiftsure, and a 
port-fire set fire to some of the upper sails of the Alex- 
ander, as well as to her jib. The crew extinguished the 
flames, after cutting away the jib-boom and other spars. 
The Alexander then dropped to a safer distance. 

Among the French ships, the Franklin received the 
greatest share of burning wreck from the Orient. Her 
decks were covered with red-hot pitch, pieces of timber, 
and burning rope. She caught fire, but they succeeded in 
putting it out. The Tonnant, a near neighbor, just before 
the explosion, slipped her cable and dropped clear. The 
Heureux and Mercure did the same. 

After the explosion it was full ten minutes until a gun 
was fired agfain. On both sides there was a sort of 
paralysis, and a waiting for what next was to occur. The 
wind seemed to have been lulled by the concussion, but 
then freshened up again, whistled about the rigging of 
the ships, ruffled the surface of the water, and aroused, 
by its cool breath, the benumbed faculties of the com- 
batants. 

The first ship to renew the fire was the much damaged 
French ship Franklin. She had only her lower battery. 
but opened with that, upon the Defence and Swiftsure; 
and they returned it, with full effect. Being surrounded 
by enemies, the gallant Franklin, fighting until her main 
and mizzen masts had gone by the board, and having 
scarcely a serviceable gun left, and half her crew dead 
or wounded, hauled down her colors. 

It was now midnight. The Tonnant was the only French 
ship which kept her battery in active play. Her shot 



2?-i NAVAT. BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

annoyed the Swiftsure, particularly; while the latter, owing 
to the position of the Alexander, could make little or no 
return. 

At 3 A.M the formidable and unremitting fire of the 
Tonnant shot away the main and mizzen masts of the 
Majestic ; and shortly after, the Tonnant herself had all 
three masts shot away, close to the deck. The wreck of 
the masts fallingoverher battery caused her to cease firing, 
but, for all that, she did not strike. Indeed, by veering 
cable, she had dropped to leeward of her second position, 
and there lay, like a lion at bay. 

The Heureux and Mercure having, as stated, withdrawn 
from the line, left room for the Tonnant to take a position 
ahead of the Guillaume Tell and the two ships in her 
rear. This she did; and then a second interval of silence 
occurred in this awful battle. 

Just as day broke, about four o'clock, the fire opened 
again, between the Tonnant, Guillaume Tell, Genereux 
and Timoleon, on the French side, and the Alexander 
and the Majestic on the other. This firing soon brought 
down the Theseus and Goliath. 

Soon after these ships arrived, the French frigate 
Artemise fired a broadside at the Theseus, and then 
struck her colors. A boat was dispatched from the 
English ship, to take possession; but the frigate was 
discovered to be on fire, and soon after blew up. In the 
meantime the four French line-of-battle ships, and the 
two frigates inside of them, kept dropping to leeward, so 
as, presently, to be almost out of gunshot of the English 
vessels that had anchored to attack them. 

At about six o'clock in the morninof the Goliath and 
Theseus got under way, and, accompanied by the Alex- 
ander and Leander, stood towards the French Mercure 
and Heureux. These, on quitting the line, had first 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 274 

anchored within it, and dien had run on shore on die 
southerly side of the bay. These two ships, after inter- 
changing a few distant shots, struck their colors. 

About an hour before noon the Genereux and 
Guillaume Tell, with the frigates Justice and Diane, got 
'under way, and made sail to the northeast, the absence 
to leeward of the three English ships which were in a 
condition to carry sail giving them an opportunity to get 
clear. The Timoleon, being too far to leeward to fetch 
clear, ran herself on shore, losing her fore-mast by the 
shock. The four other French ships now hauled close, 
on the port tack, and the Zealous, the only other English 
ship in a condition to make sail, stood after them. After 
some distant firing, the four French ships stretched on, 
and escaped. In this affair the Zealous had one man 
killed, who had already been wounded on the day before. 

And now to sum up. Of the thirteen French ships-of- 
the-line, one had been totally destroyed, with nearly all 
on board ; eight had surrendered, and two had got clear. 
Of the two remaining, one,theTimoleon,was on shore, with 
her colors flying ; the other, the indomitable Tonnant, 
having had her second cable cut by the fire of the Alex- 
ander, was lying about two miles away, a mere wreck, 
but with her colors flying on the stump of her main-mast. 

Things remained in this state until the followin*^ morn- 
ing, the 3d of August, when the Theseus and Alexander 
approached the Tonnant, and, further resistance being 
utterly hopeless, the gallant French ship hauled down 
her colors, replacing them with a flag of truce, and was 
taken possession of by a boat from the Theseus. 

The principal part of the crew of the Timoleon had, 
during the night, escaped on shore, although a few had 
been taken ofl" in the four vessels which escaped. Be- 
tween three and four hundred of those who reached the 



276 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

shore were murdered by the Bedouins, while a few fought 
their way to a French camp. Those who remained by 
the ship set her on fire, and she soon after blew up, making 
the eleventh line-of-battle-ship lost by the French in the 
battle of Aboukir, or the Nile. 

As for the British ships engaged in this great battle, 
their damages were chiefly aloft. The Bellerophon was 
the only British ship entirely dismasted, and the Majestic 
the only one, beside her, which lost a lower mast. The 
Alexander and Goliath lost top-masts ; but the lower 
masts, yards and bowsprits of all the British ships were 
more or less damaged. And we must remember, that 
such damage w^as almost equivalent to loss of propellers 
or l)oiler in ships of our day. 

The Bellerophon's hull was very much shattered, and 
many of her guns broken to pieces. The Vanguard had 
received very great injury in her hull, while the Swiftsure 
had received from the Tonnant .shots under water, which 
kept four feet of water In her hold during the entire 
action, in spite of the pumps. The Theseus was hulled 
seventy times, and the Majestic was in nearly as shat- 
tered a state as the Bellerophon. 

The loss of the English was 218 killed and 678 
wounded. Admiral Nelson was struck by a splinter a 
litde above his right, or blind eye, causing a piece of skin 
to hang down over the lid. This was replaced and 
sewed up. 

The Bellerophon suffered most in killed and wounded, 
and the Majestic next. 

As regards the captured French ships, the statistics of 
loss were never properly given. Five of them were 
entirely dismasted, and Avere rendered unsea worthy as 
to their hulls. 

The Peuple Souverain and the Franklin, though not 




NELSON WOUNDED AT TENERIFFE (pag*" 270). 




Ui:iCH MAN-UF-WAK, 17TH CENTURY. 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 277 

entirely dismasted, were not in much better plight than 
the others. The Mercure and Heureuxwere principally 
damaged by running on shore, where they lay with their 
top-gallant yards across, to all appearance as perfect as 
when the action commenced. 

As no official account of the French loss was given, 
the matter was left open to conjecture. One of the 
lowest estimates makes the French loss 2000. It was 
probably more. 

The French commander-in-chief, Admiral Brueys, 
while upon the Orient's poop, received three wounds, 
one of which was in the head. Soon afterwards, as he 
was descending to the quarter-deck, a shot almost cut 
him in two. He asked not to be carried below, but to be 
allowed to die on deck — which he did, in a few minutes. 

Casa Bianca, the captain of the Orient, is said, by some 
accounts, to have died by the Admiral's side ; but, by the 
account most generally received, he died, with his son, 
who was only ten years old, in the great -explosion. 
Captains Thevenard, of the Aquilon, and Dupetit- 
Thouars, of the Tonnant, were killed, and six other 
captains were dangerously wounded. 

Mention must be made of the Culloden, which had run 
on a reef of rocks, off the Island of Aboukir, and did not 
get into the action. Her running on shore saved the 
Alexander and Swiftsure — both of which ships did such 
good service. Every effort was made, with the assist- 
ance of the Mutine brig, to get the Culloden off. But 
the swell increased, and she lost her rudder, and began 
to leak badly. Next day she came oflj much damaged, 
and with seven feet of water in her hold, but was 
eventually saved, by good seamanship. 

In this great action the number of line-of-battle-ships 
was the same on both sides ; but the weight of metal, the 



278 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND M(^DERN. 

gross tonnage, and number of men were on the side of 
the French, The French ships were conquered in detail, 
by a masterly and bold manoeuvre of Nelson's, Had 
the unengaged French ships got under way, they would 
have no doubt captured the Culloden, prevented the two 
other English ships from entering the bay, and, possibly, 
turned the tide of battle. 

The great disaster which befell the huge three-decker, 
the Orient, no doubt gave a decided turn of the action in 
favor of the Encrlish, 

With respect to the behavior of the French, nothing 
could be more gallant than the defence made by each of 
the six van-ships ; by the Orient, in the centre, and by 
the Tonnant, in the rear. The Heureux and Mercure 
appear to have been justified in quitting the line, by the 
great danger of fire ahead of them — however precipi- 
tate in running themselves on shore. No instance of 
personal misconduct was ever reported, in either fleet. 

The engagement and its consequences ruined the 
French hopes of receiving the reinforcement of troops 
destined for Egypt ; it left the Porte free to declare war 
against them ; it rekindled the war with the German 
States; it opened the Mediterranean to the Russians, 
and occasioned the loss of Italy and the Adriatic posses- 
sions, which had been won by Bonaparte in his great 
campaigns. Finally, it piit the English at ease concerning 
India, while the Egyptians became more Inimical, and the 
French there, isolated as they were, were put upon a 
strictly defensive policy. 

On the morning of the 14th of August, after an incred- 
ible deal of labor in refitting the ships, the prizes, rigged 
with jury-masts and weakly manned, proceeded to the 
westVv'ard, except the Heureux, the Mercure and the 
Guerrier, which were in too bad a state to be refitted, 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 279 

and which were burned. A fleet was left, under Captain 
Hood, to cruise off Alexandria. Nelson, himself, in th(^ 
Vanguard, with two other ships, went to Naples, which 
he had better never have seen, for events there occurred 
which have always more or less tarnished his fame. 

The Eno-Hsh public had all summer been reproachina 
Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson for his tardiness in 
finding the French fleet, and the news of his great acdon 
(owing to the capture of the Leander, which had been 
sent with the news) did not reach England until the 2d 
of October, and then the English people thought they 
could not do enough to make amends for their complaints 
against the brightest ornament of their favorite service. 
On October 6th Nelson was made a peer, with the tide of 
Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, in the 
County of Norfolk. Thanks of Parliament, of course, 
followed, and a pension of /2000 per annum, to him and 
his two next heirs male, was granted by the Parliament of 
England, and /looo from that of Ireland. Gold medals 
were presented to Lord Nelson and his captains, and the 
first lieutenants of all the ships were promoted to com- 
manders. In regard to the Culloden, which ran on 
shore, and, of course, was not engaged, Nelson wrote: 
'T sincerely hope it is not intended to exclude the first 
lieutenant of the Culloden ; for heaven's sake, for my 
sake, if it be so, get it altered." 

Stricdy speaking, only the captains engaged were to 
have medals, but the King himself expressly authorized 
Lord Spencer to present one to Captain Trowbridge, of 
the Culloden. Nelson wrote to Earl St. Vincent^'con- 
cerning this officer: "The eminent services of our friend 
deserve the very highest rewards. I have experienced 
tlie ability and acdvity of his mind and body. It was 
Trowbridge who equipped the squadron so soon at 



280 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Syracuse ; it was Trowbridge who exerted himself for me 
after the action ; it was Trowbridge who saved the Cul- 
loden, when none that I know in the service would have 
attempted it ; it is Trowbridge whom I have left as 
myself at Naples ; he is, as a friend and as an officer, a 
7io)i-pareiI r 

The East India Company presented Lord Nelson with 
^10,000, and Liverpool, London and many other cities 
voted him rewards. The Sultan presented him with a 
diamond aigrette and robe of honor; and instituted a 
new Order, that of the Crescent, and made Nelson the 
first knight companion of it, while many other foreign 
powers presented tokens of respect for his talents and 
bravery. The finest of the French prizes which the captors 
succeeded in ofettine home was the Franklin. Her name 
was changed to Canopus, the ancient name of Aboukir. 

The following is Nelson's official letter to Lord St. Vin- 
cent, announcing the victory. It is the letter which was 
captured in the Leander, on her way to the westward, by 

the Genereux. 

" Vanguard, off the Mouth of the Nile, 

"August 3d, 1 798. 

" My Lord: — Almighty God has blessed his Majesty's 
arms, in the late battle, by a great victory over the fleet 
of the enemy, whom I attacked at sunset on the ist of 
August, off the mouth of the Nile. 

"The enemy were moored in a strong line-of-battle for 
defending the entrance of the Bay (of shoals), flanked by 
numerous gunboats, four frigates, and a battery of guns 
and mortars on an island in their van, etc. 

"The ships of the enemy, all but their two rear ships, are 
nearly dismasted, and those two, with two frigates, I am 
sorry to say, made their escape; nor was it in my power 
to prevent it, etc. 



BATTLE OF fHE NILE. 281 

" Captain Berry will present you with the flag of the 
second in command, that of the commander-in-chief beinir 
burned in L'Orient, etc/' 

As personal remarks and details by eye-witnesses of 
celebrated actions are always of interest, we may, at the 
risk of being- prolix, add some extracts from a private 
letter of Sir Samuel Hood to Lord Bridport, and terminate 
the account by a report from a French officer who was 
present. 

Sir Samuel Hood says, "After completing our water at 
Syracuse, in Sicily, we sailed from thence on the 24th of 
July, and arrived a second time off Alexandria, on the 
31st, where we found many more ships than were there 
before; amongst which were six with pendants, and 
appearing large, so that we were convinced the French 
fleet had been there. I immediately kept well to the 
eastward of the Admiral, to see if I could discover the 
enemy at Bequir (Aboukir). 

"About one o'clock the man at the mast-head called 
down, and said he saw a ship, and in a few minutes after 
announced a fleet, at anchor. I sent a glass up, and 
eighteen large ships were clearly ascertained, thirteen or 
fourteen of which appeared to be of the line; which I 
made known by signal to the Admiral, who instantly 
pressed sail up, and made the signal to prepare for battle. 
The wind being to the N. N. W. and sometimes more 
northerly, we were obliged to haul to the wind. The 
Alexander and Swiftsure, which were to leeward, were 
called in, and the Culloden ordered to cast off the prize 
which she had in tow, as she was somewhat astern. 

"As we advanced towards the enemy we plainly made 
out 13 sail-of-the-line, 4 frigates, with several small armed 
vessels, all at anchor in the road of Bequir, or Aboukir, 
very close in, and in order of battle. The Admiral then 



282 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

made the signal to anchor, and for battle, and to attack 
the van and cefitre of the enemy; and soon after for the 
line ahead, as most convenient." 

" As we got pretty nearly abreast of the shoal at the 
entrance, being within hail of the Admiral, he asked me 
if I thoLicrht we were far enouo-h to the eastward to 
bear up clear of the shoal, I told him I was in eleven 
fathoms ; that I had no chart of the bay, but if he would 
allow me, would bear up and sound with the lead, to 
which I would be very attentive, and carry him as close 
as I could with safety. He said he would be much obliged 
to me. I immediately bore away, rounded the shoal, the 
Goliath keeping upon my lee bow, until I found we were 
advancing too far from the Admiral, and then shortened 
sail, and soon found the Admiral was waiting to speak to 
a boat. 

"Soon after he made the signal to proceed, the Goliath 
leading, and as we approached the enemy shortened sail 
gradually, the Admiral allowing the Orion and others to 
pass ahead of the Vanguard. 

"The van-ship of the enemy being in five fathoms, I 
expected the Goliath and Zealous to stick fast on the shoal 
every moment, and did not imagine we should attempt 
to pass within her, as the van, with mortars, etc., from the 
island, fired regularly upon us. 

"Captain Foley intended anchoring abreast of the van- 
ship, but his sheet anchor, the cable being out of the 
stern port, not dropping the moment he wished it, he 
brought up abreast of the second ship, having given the 
first one his fire. I saw immediately he had failed of his 
intention; cut away the Zealous' sheet anchor, and came 
to in the exact situation Captain Foley meant to have 
taken. 

"The enemy's van-ship having her bow toward the 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 283 

Zealous (which had received very litde damage, notwith- 
standing we received the fire of the whole van, island, 
etc., as we came in), I directed a heavy discharge into 
»ier bow within musket-shot, a little after six. Her fore- 
mast went by the board in a few minutes, just as the sun 
was closing with the horizon ; upon which the squadron 
gave three cheers, it happening before the next ship 
astern of me had fired a shot, and only the Goliath and 
Zealous had been engaged, and in ten minutes more her 
main and mizzen masts went (at this moment also went 
the main-mast of the second ship, closely engaged by the 
Goliath and Audacious) ; but I could not get her to strike 
for three hours after, although I hailed her several times, 
seeing she was totally cut up, and only firing a stern 
chase, at intervals, at the Goliath and Audacious. 

" At last, being tired of killing men in this way, I sent 
a lieutenant on board, who was allowed, as I had in- 
structed him, to hoist a light and haul it down, as a sign 
of her submission. From the time her foremast went, the 
men had been driven from her upper decks by our 
canister-shot and musketry', and I assure your Lordship 
that,y;v/;/ Jicr hoiv to the gangway, the ports on hennain 
deck were entirely in one ; and the gunwale in that part 
entirely cut away, which caused two of her main deck 
beams to fall upon her guns, and she is so terribly 
mauled that we cannot move her without ofreat detention 
and expense, so that I imagine the Admiral will destroy 
her. In doing this execution I am happy to say that the 
Zealous had only seven men wounded and not one 
killed. 

"The Bellerophon, unfortunately alongside the Orient, 
was in two hours totally dismasted, and, in consequence, 
cut her cable and went off before the ship took fire; but 
she was most gallantly replaced by the Alexander and 



284 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Swiftsure, our worthy friends. She (the gallant Sir 
Samuel means L'Orient, but he does not say so) soon 
after took fire and blew up. 

"The Alexander and Swiftsure, having been sent to look 
into Alexandria, was the cause of their being so late in 
the action. Poor Trowbridge, in trying to make the short- 
est way to the enemy, being too far astern, struck upon 
a reef; his ship is since got off with the loss of her rudder 
and some damage to her bottom, so that he had no share 
in the glorious victory. I believe, had not the Culloden 
struck, the Alexander and Swiftsure, in the dark, would 
probably have got into her situation, so that the accident 
may be fortunate, as she was a buoy to them. 

"On the blowing up of L'Orient a part of the wreck 
fell on board of, and set fire to the jib and fore-top-mast- 
stay-sail of, the Alexander, but the great exertion of her 
officers and people soon got it under, with the loss of 
some men. Captain Westcott was killed by a musket- 
ball early in the action, but his loss was not felt, as the first 
lieutenant, Cuthbert, fought the Majestic most gallantly 
during the remainder of the action. The Bellerophon 
and that ship have suffered much. In the morning, the 
Theseus, Goliath, Audacious and Zealous were ordered 
into the rear, having sustained but little damage ; but 
as I was going down, the Admiral made my signal to 
chase the Diane frigate, which was under sail and attempt- 
ing to escape. She, however, returned and closed with 
the ships of the enemy that had not submitted, and I was 
called in and ordered to go to the assistance of the 
Bellerophon, v.'ho lay at anchor on the other side of the 
bay; but in going to her, I perceived the Guillaume Tell, 
of 80 guns, and the Genereux, of 74, the Diane and 
Justice, of 40, pressing to make their escape, being the 
only ships not disabled, and immediately directed the 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 285 

Zealous to be kept close upon the wind, in the hope I 
should be able to bring them to action and disable them, 
so as to allow assistance to come to me, or so far cripple 
them as to prevent their working out of the bay. I 
weathered them within musket-shot and oblicred them to 
keep away to avoid being raked ; and although I did 
them a great deal of damage, they were so well prepared 
as to cut away every brace and bowline, with topmast 
and standinof riofc^ine. I meant to have boarded the rear 
frigate, but could not get the ship round for a short space 
of time, and whilst I was trying to do it, I was called in 
by signal, seeing I should get disabled, without having it 
in my power to stop so superior a force. The Admiral 
was very handsome in his acknowledgments for my 
zealous attempt" (we suppose the gallant Sir Samuel 
Intended no pun here, buthe made a very good one), "as 
well as for my gallant conduct. I told him I only did my 
duty, and although the ship was very much cut in her 
sails and rigging, having forty cannon-shot through her 
main-sail, I had lost but one man killed and none materi- 
ally wounded. 

"The Audacious was sent to the Bellerophon in my 
room, and I am now quite to rights. Ben Hallowell has 
written to your Lordship, so has our brave Admiral, who, 
I am sorry to say, is again wounded, but is doing well; the 
wound is in his head, not dangerous, but very trouble- 
some. Some of our ships have suffered much. Your 
Lordship, as well as the whole world, will believe and 
think this the most glorious victory that ever was gained, 
and it will certainly prove the ruin of the French army. 

"A courier has been taken, charged with despatches 
from Bonaparte and the other Generals, for France. -^ * 

"Amongst the French letters * * is one from young 
Beauharnais, B's step-son, who is with him, to his 



286 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

mother; in which he says Bonaparte is very much dis- 
tressed, owing- to some disputes with TaUien and others, 
and particularly with Berthier, which he did not expect. 
These are favorable events, and will make our victory the 
more important." 

To give an idea of the important events we have been 
speaking of from the point of view of the losing side, we 
give an account of the action written by the Adjutant of 
the French fleet, while a prisoner on board the Alexander. 

Betrinninuf with the advance of the Enorlish fleet, he savs, 
"The Alert then began to put the Admiral's orders into 
execution, namely, to stand towards the enemy until 
nearly within gunshot, and then to manoeuvre and 
endeavor to draw them towards the outer shoal, lying off 
the island; but the English Admiral no doubt had 
experienced pilots on board, as he did not pay any atten- 
tion to the brig's track, but allowed her to go away, 
hauline well round all danger. 

"At five o'clock the enemy came to the wind in succes- 
sion; the manoeuvre convinced us that they intended 
attacking us that evening. The Admiral got the top- 
gallant yards across, but soon after made the signal that 
he intended engaging the enemy at anchor; convinced, 
no doubt, that he had not seamen enough to engage 
under sail. * ''' * ''' 

" After this signal each ship ought to have sent a 
stream cable to the ship astern of her, and to have made 
a hawser fast to the cable, about twenty fathoms in the 
water, and passed to the bow on the opposite side to that 
expected to be engaged, as a spring. This was not gen- 
erally executed. Orders were then given to let go 
another bower anchor, and the broadsides of the ships 
were brought to bear upon the enemy, having the ships' 
heads S. east from the Island Bequir, forming a line about 



BATTLE OF THE NILE. 287 

1300 fathoms, northwest and southeast, each with an 
anchor out S. S. east. * * * * 

" All the (French) van were attacked on both sides by 
the enemy, who ranged close along our line ; they had 
each an anchor out astern, which facilitated their motions 
and enabled them to place themselves in a most advan- 
tageous position. **=!=* 

" At nine o'clock the ships in the van slackened their 
fire, and soon after it totally ceased, and with infinite 
sorrow we supposed they had surrendered. They were 
dismasted soon after the action began, and so damaged, 
it is to be presumed, they could not hold out against an 
enemy so superior by an advantageous position, in 
placing several ships against one. * * * * 

" At ten o'clock the main and mizzen masts of the 
ship (on board of which the officer who writes the account 
was — the flag-ship of Admiral Blanquet) were lost, and 
all the guns on the main deck were dismounted. At 
half-past ten this ship had to cut her cables to avoid the 
fire of her consort, L'Orient. The English ship that was 
on L'Orient's port quarter, as soon as she had done 
firing upon her, brought her broadside to bear upon the 
Tonnant's bow, and kept up a very heavy raking fire. 

"The Mercureand Heureux conceived that they ought 
likewise to cut their cables ; and this manoeuvre created 
so much confusion amongst the rear ships that they fired 
into each other, and did considerable damage ; the 
Tonnant anchored ahead of the Guillaume Tell ; the 
Genereux and Timoleon got ashore, etc. '■' * =5= * 

"The Adjutant General, Montard, although badly 
wounded, swam to the ship nearest L'Orient, which 
proved to be English. Commodore Casa Bianca and his 
son, only ten years of age, who during the action gave 
proofs of bravery and intelligence far beyond his age, 



288 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

were not so fortunate. They were in the water, upon 
the wreck of the Orient's masts, neither being able to 
swim, and seeking each other, until the ship blew up 
and put an end to their hopes and fears. 

"The explosion was dreadful, and spread fire to a 
considerable distance. The decks of the Franklin were 
covered with red-hot pitch, oakum, rope, and pieces of 
timber, and she was on fire for the fourth time, but luckily 
trot it under. 

"Immediately after the tremendous explosion the action 
everywhere ceased, and was succeeded by a most 
jorofound silence. "''' * * * It was a quarter of an 
hour before the ships' crews recovered from the stupor 
they were thrown into. 

"Towards eleven o'clock the Franklin, anxious to 
preserve the trust confided to her, re-commenced the 
action with a few of the lower-deck guns; all the rest were 
dismounted. Two-thirds of the ship's company were 
killed, and those who remained most fatigued. She was 
surrounded by the enemy's ships, who mowed down the 
men at every broadside. At half-past eleven, having 
only three lower-deck guns which could defend the honor 
of the flag, it became necessary to put an end to so 
disproportionate a struggle, and Citizen Martinel, Capi- 
taine de Fregate, ordered the colors to be struck." 

Of the 'French officers in command at the Nile, one 
Admiral and two Captains were killed, and Rear-Admiral 
Blanquet and seven Captains were wounded. They w '*^ « 
all taken on board the Vanguard, and hospitably ent?>»- 
tained by Nelson. 

The following anecdote of them is said to be tru«». 
While on the passage to Naples, in the Vanguard, they 
were, as usual, dining with Nelson. One of the French 



Battle of the nile. 289 

captains had lost his nose, another an eye, ana another 
most of his teeth, by a musket ball. . During the dinner, 
Nelson, half blind from his wound, and not thinking what 
he was about, offered the latter a case of toothpicks, and, 
on discovering his error, became excessively confused, 
and in his confusion handed his snuff-box to the captain 
on his right, ivho had lost his 7iose. 



290 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MOD£rN. 



LEANDER AND GJiNh'REUX. 16TH AUGUST. 
A.D. 1798. 




I'N connection with the Battle of the Nile, it 
may be interesting to give some account of 
an action between single ships which closely 
followed it, in which Admiral Nelson's 
dispatches describing his victory were cap- 
tured by one of the two French line-of-battle 
ships which escaped from Aboukir Bay. 
It will be remembered that the Genereux 
and Guillaume Tell, with two frigates, made sail and 
escaped, on August 2d. 

On the 5th the Leander, 50, Captain Thompson, was 
despatched, with Captain Berry, of Admiral Nelson's 
flag-ship, to convey to Earl St. Vincent the report of the 
great action. 

The Leander, making the best of her way to the west- 
ward, was, at daybreak on the i8th of August, within a 
few miles of the Goza di Candia. As the sun rose a 
large sail was discovered in the south, evidently a ship- 
of-the-line, and standing directly for the Leander, which 
latter ship was becalmed, while the stranger was bringing 
up a fine breeze from the southward. The Leander 
being some eighty men short of her complement, and 
having on board several who were wounded in the late 
action, Captain Thompson very properly took every 



LEANDER AND g6n6rEUX. £91 

means to avoid a contest with a ship so superior in size 
and force. But the Inferiority In saUing of the Leander 
rendered an action inevitable ; and it was only left him 
to steer such a course as would enable her to receive 
hc-r powerful antagonist to the best advantage. 

The line-of-batde ship soon turned out to be French, 
and no other than the Genereux. She still had the breeze 
to herself, and came down within distant shot, when she 
hoisted Neapolitan colors. These she soon changed for 
Turkish, but had not at all deceived the English officers 
as to her nationality. About nine o'clock she ranged up 
on the Leander's weather quarter, within half gunshot. 
The English ship at once hauled up until her broadside 
would bear, and then opened a vigorous fire, which was 
returned by the Genereux. The ships contrived to 
near each other, keeping up a constant and heavy fire, 
until half-past ten, when it was evident the Genereux 
intended to lay her opponent on board. The Leander's 
sails and rigging were so much cut up, and the wind 
was so light, that she could not avoid the shock, and 
the French ship struck her on the port bow, and, drop- 
ping alongside, continued there for some time.' The 
French crew were, however, prevented from boarding by 
the musketry fire of the Leander's few marines, upon\er 
poop, and the small-arm men on the quarter-deck. Thev 
made several attempts, but were each time beaten off, 
with loss. 

Meanwhile the great guns of both ships, that would 
bear, were firing most actively, and the action was very 
severe. Presendy, an Increase of breeze occurring, the 
Leander took advantage of It to disengage herself^and, 
being ably handled, was able to pass under her enemy's 
stern, at but a few yards distance, while she deliberately 
raked her with every broadside gun. Soon after this the 



292 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

breeze entirely died away, and the sea became as smooth 
as glass; but the cannonade between the two ships 
continued, with unabated fury, until half-past three in the 
afternoon, A light breeze then sprang up, and the 
Genereux had passed the Leander's bows, and stationed 
herself on the lattcr's starboard side. Unfortunately, a 
great wreck of spars and rigging had fallen on that side 
of the Leander, and disabled her guns. This checked the 
English ship's fire, and the French now hailed to know 
if she had surrendered. The Leander was now totally 
unmanageable, having only the shattered remains of her 
fore and main masts standing, while her hull was cut to 
pieces, and her decks covered with the killed and 
wounded. The Genereux, on the other hand, having 
only lost her mizzen-top-mast, was about to take up a 
position across her opponent's stern, where she could 
finish her work by raking her with deadly effect, without 
a possibility of reply. In this condition she had no 
choice but surrender, and the Genereux, took possession 
of her hard-won prize. 

In this six hours' close and bloody fight the Leander 
had thirty-five killed, and fifty-seven wounded, a full third 
of all on board. The loss of the Genereux was severe. 
She had a crew of seven hundred, and lost about one 
hundred killed, and one hundred and eighty-eight 
wounded. This ciefence of a fifty-gun ship against a 
seventy-four is almost unparalleled. 

Captain Le Joille, the commander of the French ship, 
was not, if we may believe the English accounts, a very 
good specimen of a French naval officer, even of those 
peculiar times, when rudeness was considered the best 
proof of true republicanism. Captain Thompson and his 
officers were allowed to be plundered, as soon as they 
arrived on board the Gt§nereux, of every article they 



LEANDER and GfeNfeREUX. ^93 

possessed, hardly leaving the clothes which they wore. 
In vain they expostulated with the French Captain, 
reminding him of the very different treatment experienced 
by the French officers taken prisoners at the battle of the 
Nile. With great nonchalance he answered, "I am sorry, 
but to tell the truth, our fellows are great hands at 
pillage." Captain Berry, the bearer of dispatches, who 
was a passenger in the Leander, was plundered of a pair 
of pistols which he valued. The man who had taken 
them was produced, when the French Captain himself 
took the pistols, telling Berry that he would give him a 
pair of French pistols when he was released, which he 
never did. This incident is related by Sir Edward Berry 
himself. In a letter. In fact, the French behaved very 
much like Barbary corsairs, and even took the Instru- 
ments of the surgeon of the Leander, before he had 
performed the necessary operadons. Captain Thomp- 
son's severe wounds nearly proved fatal, from their 
preventing the surgeon from attending to them. When 
the Leander arrived at Corfu, where she was taken, the 
French there treated the English very badly, and some 
of them nearly perished of privation. Had Captain 
Thompson fallen into the hands of Captain Bergeret, or 
many other French officers who could be named, his 
obstinate and noble defence would have secured him the 
respect and esteem of his captors. 

Bergeret was of a very different type of French officer. 
He was, during this war, a prisoner in England, and was 
given his parole, to go to France, and endeavor to effect 
an exchange between himself and the celebrated Sir 
Sidney Smith, then a prisoner In Paris. Failing in his 
object, he prompdy returned to his imprisonment in 
England. Sir Sidney had, in the meantime, made his 
escape; and the British government, with a due sense of 
19 A 



294 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Bergeret's conduct, restored his liberty, without any 
restrictions. 

It is a pity that such a man as Le Joille should have 
been in command of one of the finest 74s in the French 
navy. 

When Captain Thompson's wounds healed, and he 
at length reached his native country, he received not only 
an honorable acquittal from the court held upon the loss 
of his ship, but also the honor of knighthood, for the 
defence which he had made against so superior a force. 

Another striking incident connected with the battle of 
the Nile, and we shall have done with that action. 

Just a month after the batde, while the squadron under 
Captain Hood, of the Zealous, which had been left off 
Alexandria, by Nelson, was cruising close In with that place, 
a cutter made her appearance, standing towards the land. 
The Swiftsure and the Emerald frigate fired several shots 
at her, but the cutter would not bring to, and at length ran 
aground a little to the westward of the Marabout tower. 
The English boats were at once despatched to bring her 
off; but in the meantime the crew of the cutter had made 
eood their landlncr, and the vessel herself was shortlv 
afterwards beaten to pieces by the high surf. The shore, 
at this time, presented nothing but barren, uncultivated 
sands as far as the eye could reach ; but soon several 
Arabs were seen advancing, some on horseback and some 
'on foot. The French, who had quitted the cutter, now 
perceived their mistake; but, for nearly the whole of 
them. It was too late. The Arabs were upon them. 

The British boats pulled for the shore, in hopes of 
saving their unfortunate enemies, but the breakers were 
too heavy to effect a landing in safety. A midshipman 
of the Emerald, Mr. Francis Fane (who afterwards rose 
high in the service), with a high sense of humanity, threw 



LEANDER AND GENEREUX. 



295 



himself Into the water, and swam through the surf to the 
shore, pushing before him an empty boat's breaker, or 
small cask, to which a line had been made fast. By this 
means Citizen Gardon, the commandingf officer of the 
French cutter, and four of his men, were saved. The 
cutter was the Anemone, of four guns and sixty men, six 
days from Malta, and originally from Toulon, having on 
board General Carmin and Captain Vallette, aide-de-camp 
to General Bonaparte ; also a courier, with despatches, 
and a small detachment of soldiers. 

The General, perceiving no possibility of escape from 
the English, had ordered Captain Gardon to run the 
cutter on shore. The sailor represented to the soldier 
the danger to his vessel and those on board, from the 
high surf, and particularly to all who should succeed in 
landlnof, from the hordes of wild Arabs who Infested 
that coast. 

The General said he would cut his way through them, 
to Alexandria, which was not much more than ten miles 
off. No sooner, however, did the French land, than they 
perceived the Bedouins, who, up to that time, had con- 
cealed themselves behind the numerous sand hills In the 
nelo-hborhood. 

Terror and dismay now seized upon the General and 
the unfortunate victims of his rash resolve ; and their 
enemy, the British, viewed their probable fate with com- 
miseration, for the Arabs never spared any French who 
fell into their hands. Although the crew of the cutter, 
by refusing to surrender, and by firing upon the British 
boats long after all hopes of escape were at an end, had 
brought the disaster on themselves, still the English could 
not help mourning their sad fate. 

What followed was a melancholy spectacle. The 
French officers and men were seized and stripped, and 



290 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

many of them murdered at once, in cold blood, as they 
made no resistance on being pillaged. An Arab, on 
horseback, unslung a carbine, and presented it at the 
General, in full sioht of the boats. The General and the 
aide-de-camp appeared to be on their knees, begging for 
mercy. The Arab drew the trigger but the piece missed 
fire, and the man renewed the priming, very deliberately, 
and aeain fired at the General. He missed him, ])ut shot 
the aid-de-camp, in his rear, and then h(^ drew a pistol 
and shot the General, who instandy fell. 

The French courier endeavored to escape, but he was 
pursued and killed, and the Arab who got possession of 
his despatches at once rode off with them. It was learned, 
afterwards, that they were restored to the French for a 
large sum of money. 

On the appearance of a troop of French cavalry, from 
Alexandria, the Arabs retired to the desert, taking with 
them their surviving prisoners, while the British boats, 
with their five rescued prisoners, returned to the squadron. 



THE AMBUSCADE AND BAYONHAJSE. 



297 



ACTION BETWEEN THE AMBUSCADE AND 
BAYONNAISE. A. D. 1798. 




INGLE ship actions are often as decisive as 
those between fleets ; and they are, as a 
rule, even more characteristic and interest- 
ing. Of course, we mean by decisive that 
they have often affected, for good or evil, 
the morale of nations, thereby encouraging" 
one and depressing the other, and thus In 
no small degree affecting the progress of a 
war. 
The frigate actions of our last war with Great Britain 
were very pre-eminently of this nature, and some of them 
will, in due time, be given. 

The action of the Ambuscade and Bayonnaise has 
always been a fruitful source of discussion, as well as of 
lively contradiction, between the French and English 
naval writers, the latter being as much depressed by 
allusions to it as the French are elated. Where so'much 
discussion and rejoinder have taken place In regard to the 
collision of a comparatively insignificant force, we may 
expect to find many contradictory statements. 

In what follows we shall mve the account of the beaten 
side, the British, In the main points, premising, of course, 
that they would make the best of a poor story. The 
facts of the capture are not disputed, and are given in 



298 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN, 

about the same terms by both sides. It Is the manner of 
telHng which differs. 

On December 5th, 1798, the British 32-gun frigate 
Ambuscade, Captain Jenkins, sailed from Portsmouth (to 
which port she had escorted a prize, and on board the 
latter had left a few of her men as a prize crew), for a 
cruise on the French coast. Not long after sailing she 
made prizes of a brig and a lugger, and received on 
board from the two vessels some thirty prisoners, while 
she sent to the prizes her Second Lieutenant and a suffi- 
cient number of men to man them. Her Third Lieutenant 
was at this time ill in his bed, and the Ambuscade was 
reduced in her complement, by the sending of prize crew.>, 
from 212 to 190. Of this one hundred and ninety the 
English accounts claim that a large number were boys. 
It is quite likely that she had many landsmen and boys, 
as most English ships had at that time, but that she had 
such a proportion of boys as to effect her efficiency is not 
very likely. She was not a school-ship or a training-ship, 
but an active 32, engaged in winter cruising on a noto- 
riously rough station, and doing her best to cripple the 
enemy by taking and sending in prizes. 

On the morning of December 1 4th, while lying to off 
the mouth of the Garonne, and momentarily expecting to 
be joined by the 32-gun frigate Stag, a sail was made out, 
to seaward, standing in. The stranger was direcdy end- 
on to the Ambuscade, and all on board the latter ship 
seem to have taken it for granted It was her consort, 
the Stag, because the latter was expected at that 
time. December mornings are not apt to be clear and 
fine in the Bay of Biscay, and the new comer was some 
distance off. They could see but litde of her hull, from 
her position, neither could they make out any colors, for 
tht,' same reason. 



THE AMBUSCADE AND BAYONNAISE. 299 

This being the state of affairs, on an enemy's coast, in 
time of active war, the officers and men of the Ambuscade 
left her hove to, and went unconcernedly to breakfast, 
with only a few hands on deck to observe the approach 
of the strange sail, which came rolling down at her leisure. 
Before nine o'clock she was within gunshot, and then she 
suddenly hauled by the wind, and made all sail, apparendy 
to escape. She was now seen to be French, and the 
Ambuscade's hands were turned up, and a press of sail 
at once made in chase of what proved to be the French 
24-gun corvette, the Bayonnaise, commanded by Captain 
Richer, and coming from Cayenne, with some 30 troops 
and an officer as passengers; these raising the number on 
board to between 240 and 250 men. 

The English ship seems to have been faster than her 
opponent, for she soon placed herself within comfortable 
firing distance, when she hoisted her colors, and the 
Bayonnaise did the same. The French ship then shortened 
sail, and the acdon began; the interchange of broadsides 
condnuing for about an hour, the English account stating 
that, at the end of that time, the Bayonnaise was suffering 
very much. It is certain that the Ambuscade was suffer- 
ing, for one of her main-deck twelve-pounders, just 
abreast of her gangway, had burst. Now James, and 
other English naval historians scout the idea that such an 
accident should have any effect upon an acdon, when it 
relates to so daundess a spirit as that of Commodore 
Rodgers, in command of an American frigate, outnum- 
bered by an English squadron. But in this case it is 
thei7' ox which is gored, and they make the most of it, 
even going so far as to trace the capture of the English ship 
to that cause. By this unfortunate accident her gangway 
was knocked away, the boats on the boom were stove, and 
other damage done; while eleven men were wounded. 



300 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

It Is true that the bravest and best discipHned ship's 
company has its ardor dampened by an occurrence of the 
kind, as they feel that the next gun may, at any moment, 
in its turn sacrifice its crew. The good fame of a gun is 
as important as that of a woman, and the bursting of a 
gun during an engagement is one of the most unfortunate 
accidents which can occur to any ship, be the destruction 
great or small. In addition to this, all the English naval 
historians combine in saying that the Ambuscade had an 
exceptionally bad crew; and James devotes as much 
space to proving this, and also that this 24-gun corvette 
ought not to have taken an English ship of 32 guns, as 
he does to most general actions. The accident to the gun 
seems to have caused so much confusion on board the 
English ship that the French corvette made sail to take 
advantage of it, and make her escape from a disagreeable 
predicament. This act on her part seems to have 
recalled the Ambuscade's Captain to a sense of his duty, 
and that ship soon overtook the Bayonnaise again — 
coming up to leeward, to recommence the action — but 
at first, owing to a press of sail, shooting a little too far 
ahead. 

The Bayonnaise was, at this time, much damaged in 
hull, rigging and spars, and had suffered a heavy loss in 
officers and men — among others, her Captain and First 
Lieutenant — wounded. The commanding officer of the 
troops who were passengers then suggested to the only 
sea-officer left on deck the trial of boarding the English 
ship, which was so much the more powerful in weight of 
metal. The plan was assented to, the boarders called 
away, the corvette's helm was put up, and she was allowed 
to drop foul of the Ambuscade, carrying away with her 
bowsprit the quarter-deck barricade, wheel, mizzen-rig- 
ging and mizzen-mast of the English frigate. It is evident 



THE AMBUSCADE AND BAYONNAISE. ,301 

that the latter must have been in a bad state to permit 
this to be done. 

The Bayonnaise then swung round under the Ambus- 
cade's stern, but still remaining foul of her, having caught 
the English ship's rudder chain, either by a grappling 
iron or by the fluke of an anchor, and the French now, by 
a vigorous use of musketry, commanded completely the 
quarter-deck of the Ambuscade. 

The marines of the Ambuscade kept up a fire in return, 
but were overpowered by the steady, close fire of the 
French soldiers, and in a very short time the First Lieu- 
tenant was handed below, wounded in the groin, when he 
almost immediately expired. 

Almost at the same moment Captain Jenkins was shot 
in the thigh, breaking the bone, and was necessarily 
removed from the deck, as was the Lieutenant of Marines, 
from wounds in the thigh and shoulder. 

Scarcely had these left the deck when the Master was 
shot through the head, and instandy killed. The only 
surviving Lieutenant, who had left his oick bed to take part 
in the defence, was now wounded w the head. 

The gunner at this moment camf; on deck, and reported 
the ship on fire below and abaft, which so alarmed the 
uninjured portion of the crew, on account of the neighbor- 
hood of the magazine, that they left their quarters on the 
gun-deck, and went below. 

The fire was occasioned by some cartridges which had 
been carelessly left upon the rudder head, and which, on 
the discharge of a gun through the cabin window or stern 
port, into the bows of the Bayonnaise, had exploded, 
badly wounding every man at the gun, besides blowing 
out a part of the Ambuscade's stern, and destroying the 
boat which was hanging there. 

In the height of all this confusion on board the Ambus- 



302 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN, 

cade the French soldiers, who, throughout, had behaved 
splendidly, charged across the bowsprit of their vessel, 
which formed a bridge to the quarter-deck of the Ambus- 
cade, now undefended, and, after a short struggle on the 
main deck, found themselves in possession of the frigate. 
There is no doubt that this result was most humiliating 
to a nation who had grown to consider themselves 
irresistible by sea, when the odds were not too great. 
The great advantage of the Ambuscade, her gun force, 
was not made the most of; and although she was 
evidently the faster vessel, the Frenchman, from superior 
tactics, was enabled to make his superiority in musketeers 
tell. In fact, the whole story shows that the English ship 
was sadly deficient in discipline and drill. It was imme- 
diately given out that the majority of her crew "were the 
scum of the British navy," but the great trouble appears 
to have been with the captain himself This officer had 
been promoted to the command of the Ambuscade from 
the Carnatic, 74, where he had been first lieutenant, and 
he had brought with him from that ship a party of sea- 
men whom he chose to call the "gentlemen Carnatics," 
and distino^uishinof those men whom he found on board 
the frigate by the very opprobrious epithet of "black- 
guard Ambuscades." One can hardly speak calmly of 
the fact that such an idiot as this was placed in such a 
responsible position; and, as he himself had raised two 
parties in his ship, the only wonder is that she made so 
good a defence. When Captain Jenkins and his surviv- 
ing officers and ship's company were, some months later, 
exchanged, a court-martial was, of course, held upon him, 
for the loss of the Ambuscade. The Captain was suffer- 
ing still from the effects of his dreadful wound, and he 
and the rest were acquitted, in spite of the evidence 
showing that his ship was in bad discipline, and that the 



IHE AMBUSCADE AND BAYONNAISE. 303 

action had been conducted in a lubberly manner, on the 
part of the English, from first to last. No questions 
appear to have been pressed as to why the Bayonnaise's 
character was not earlier ascertained, whereby confusion 
would have been avoided in the opening of the engage- 
ment, and the Ambuscade might have obtained the 
weather-gage, and kept her adversary from boarding; 
while in that position, her superiority in metal should 
have told. It was proved that the hammocks were not 
in the nettings, in spite of the musketry being so much 
used, and other equally shameful points were made 
manifest. Yet Jenkins was acquitted, and the sentence 
of the court avoided even naming the ship by which 
he had been captured. The French took their prize into 
Rochefort, and great were the rejoicings, not without 
cause, for a French corvette had captured an English 
frigate. Richer was promoted by the French Directory, 
over one grade, to that of Capitaine de Vaissemi, and the 
crew properly rewarded. The gallant officer in com- 
mand of the troops, to whom so much of the credit of the 
action is due, was killed on the Bayonnaise's deck. 




304 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



SIR SIDNEY SMITH AND HIS SEAMEN AT 
ACRE. A. D. 1799. 




^N March, 1799, Commodore Sir William Sid« 
ney Smith, in command of die En^glish 74-gun 
ship, Tigre, then lying- off Alexandria, was 
invested by the British government with 
the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary to the 
Sublime Porte, 

In consequence of an express received 
from Achmed Djezzar, Governor of Syria, 
with the Information that Bonaparte had invaded that 
country, and had carried Jaffa by storm, and that the 
French were also preparing an expedition by sea. Sir 
Sidney sent off the Theseus, Captain Miller, to Acre, as 
well as a small vessel to reconnoitre the Syrian coast and 
rejoin the Theseus at Caiffa. 

Acre was the next town and fortified place on the coast, 
north of Jaffa, and was in a bay of the same name, the 
southern port of which was the headland celebrated from 
very ancient times as Mount Carmel. The bay Is very 
much exposed to winds from every quarter but the east 
and south, and at all times is a rough and uncertain 
anchorage. Just within the southern cape of Carmel, 
where the Mount drops away and the country becomes 
flat, is the town of Haiffa or Kaiffa, and beyond that, at 
the turn of the bay, before one comes to Acre, Is the 
mouth of the river Kishon. This mouth, except when the 



SIR SIDNEY SMITH AND HIS SEAMEN AT ACRE. 305 

/iver is in flood, is obstructed by sand bars, and is gener* 
ally to be forded, with care. 

On the 13th of March the Theseus, a 74, arrived at 
Acre, and on the 15th the Tigre, AlHance and Marianne 
also anchored in that port ; and Sir Sidney Smith, finding 
that the Turks were disposed to defend the place, used 
every exertion to put the walls in a state to resist an 
attack. On the 17th the Theseus was sent to the souths 
ward, and Sir Sidney, with the boats of the Tigre, proceeded 
to the anchorage of Caiffa, under Mount Carmel, That 
evening, after dark, the advanced guard of the French 
was discovered, mounted on asses and dromedaries, and 
passing along the coast road, close to the seaside, and a 
launch, with a 12-ft) carronade, was sent to the mouth of 
the river, to defend the ford. 

At daybreak the next morning this launch opened a 
most unexpected fire on the French column, and com- 
pelled it to change its route, so that when they took the 
Nazareth road they became exposed to the attacks of the 
Samaritan Arabs. The guns of the British ships pre- 
venting the French from making an attack from the 
north, they invested Acre on the northeast side, where the 
defences were much stronger. As no artillery was used 
in replying to the British boats, it was evident that the 
French had none with them. Expecting that a flotilla 
was to bring artillery up to them, a lookout was kept, and, 
on the morning of the i8th a French corvette and nine 
sail of gun vessels was seen from the Tigre. They were 
promptly chased and the gun-boats taken, but the corvette 
escaped. The prizes were full of battering cannon, 
ammunition and siege stores, which they had brought 
from Damietta. 

These guns, wliich had been intended for the destruction 
of Acre, were now landed for its defence, and the gun- 



oOO NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

boats employed to harass their late owners, and cut off 
supplies. 

That same day an English boat expedition met with a 
disastrous repulse in an attack upon four French trans- 
ports, which had come into Caiffa anchorage with supplies 
for the French army, losing heavily in officers and men ; 
and soon after all the English vessels were obliged to put 
to sea, on account of bad weather, and were not able to 
return again until the 6th of April. 

In the meantime Bonaparte had been pushing the siege 
operations with the energy peculiarly his own, and it 
seemed impossible for the Turkish garrison and the 
English sailors to resist his determined approach. Dur- 
ing the absence of the British ships he had pushed his 
approaches to the counter-scarp, and in the ditch at the 
northeast anMe of the town was mininof the towers to 
widen a breach already made by his field pieces. As 
much danger was apprehended from this approach, a 
sorde was determined on, in which the English seamen 
and marines were to bear a prominent part. They were 
to force their way into the mine while the Turks attacked 
the enemy's trenches on the right and left. The sortie 
took place just before daylight, but the Turks rendered 
abortive the attempt to surprise the enemy by their noise 
and impetuosity. The English sailors, armed with pikes 
and cutlasses, succeeded in entering the mine, and 
destroyed its supports, and partly filled it up. The 
marines supported and protected them while doing this, 
and the party was covered on its return by a cross fire 
from one of the ships. This sortie much delayed Bona- 
parte's operations ; but, in the meantime. Rear- Admiral 
Perree of the French navy, who had been hovering about 
the coast with a squadron, succeeded in landing supplies 
and some l8-lt) guns, at Jaffa, which were immediately 



SIR SIDNEY SMITH AND IIIS SEAMEN AT ACRE. 30? 

brought up, overland. Napoleon attached the utmost 
importance to the speedy capture of Acre, which was 
necessary to the success of his plans, and he pushed the 
siege with tremendous energy, and reckless disregard for 
the lives of his troops. The garrison continued to 
make sorties, under cover of the boats of the English 
squadron, but the ist of May found the French success- 
ful in establishing a breach, from the concentrated fire of 
twenty-three pieces of artillery. They then made a 
desperate attempt to storm the place. 

The Theseus was moored on one side of the town, and 
the Tigre on the other, while the gun-boats and launches 
flanked the enemy's trenches. 

Notwithstanding a tremendous fire from the shipping, 
and in the very face of a heavy fire from the walls of the 
town, the French bravely mounted to the assault; but, in 
spite of all their efforts, were repulsed with great 
slaughter. Several English officers and seamen were 
killed in this affair, and Colonel Philipeaux, a French 
Royalist officer of engineers, serving with the English 
against Bonaparte, died of excessive fatigue. 

The French continued to batter in breach, and continued 
their attempts to storm; in spite of which Sir Sidney 
Smith managed to construct two ravelins, within musket 
shot of the besiegers. All this involved the most extreme 
fatigue on the part of both the besiegers and the 
besieged. Frequent sorties were made, which impeded 
the French in their work; and on May 7th a reinforce- 
ment of two Turkish corvettes, and twenty-five transports 
with troops, arrived. 

Bonaparte determined to make one more effort to 
capture the place before these troops could be landed. 
Although the British fire from the vessels was kept up, 
Bonaparte had succeeded in throwing up epaulements 



308 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and traverses, with his great engineering abiHty, which in 
a great degree protected his working parties from the 
naval party. The pieces which annoyed him most were 
in the Hght-house tower, and in the north raveHn, and two 
68-pounders, mounted in native flat-bottomed vessels and 
throwing shells. These were all manned by the English 
seamen. 

In spite of all this, Bonaparte gained ground, and 
having battered down the northeast tower of the walls, 
the ruins formed a sort of ladder, and at daylight on the 
8th of May the French stormed again, and succeeded in 
planting their colors on the outer angle of the tower. 

Their position was sheltered by two traverses, which 
they had constructed during the preceding night, com- 
posed of sand-bags and bodies of the dead built in with 
them, and forming a wall so high that only their bayonets 
could be seen above them. 

In the meantime the reinforcement of Turkish troops, 
under Hassan Bey, were being debarked, which only 
increased Bonaparte's endeavors to get possession of the 
place before they could be put in position. 

It was a most critical moment, and Sir Sidney, to gain 
time, himself led the British seamen, mostly armed with 
pikes, to the defence of the breach. Here he found a 
few Turks, who were hurling huge stones down upon the 
French. The latter, being reinforced, charged up, and 
the fight became a hand-to-hand one. 

According to the ancient custom of the Turks, Djezzar 
Pasha had been sitting in his palace rewarding such as 
brought to him the heads of his enemies ; but when he 
heard that Sir Sidney was on the breach he hastened 
there to persuade him to retire, saying that "if harm 
befell his English friends all would be lost." Hassan's 
troops were now close at hand, and Sir Sidney led up the 



Sir SIDNEY SMITH AND HIS SEAMEN AT ACRE. 309 

Chifflic regiment, armed and disciplined in the European 
style, and made a determined sally. They were beaten 
back, however, by the desperate fighting of the French, 
with great loss; but in doing so, the latter were obliged 
to expose themselves, and suffered terribly from the 
flanking fire of the English guns. 

Napoleon had entered Syria with about fifteen thousand 
men, and many of his best generals, but by this time his 
losses had been so great that he feared he should be 
unsuccessful in his undertaking of seizing the whole of 
that country, for which undertaking he had made such 
exertions and sacrifices. But he was not the man to 
retire from any enterprise before he had exhausted all 
his resources. 

On the 9th and loth he continued to batter the 
defences, day and night, in preparation for one final, des- 
perate effort. Every shot brought down large pieces of 
the wall, which was less solid than the tower they had 
been so long battering, and a new breach was effected, to 
the southward of their first lodgment. Bonaparte was 
now distincdy seen by the defenders most energetically 
direcdng operations from an elevated mound called after 
Richard Coeurde Lion, addressing his generals with great 
energy of gesture, and sending off aides-de-eamp in every 
direction. The night before he had himself inspected the 
breach closely, rousing the enthusiasm of his veteran 
troops by the way in which he exposed himself, at the very 
foot of the walls, to the hottest fire. About noon he made 
dispositions for storming. Kleber's grenadiers were to 
lead, their chief, Venoux, saying, " If Saint Jean d'Acre is 
not taken this evening you may be certain that Venoux 
is dead." And he did, indeed, die, that evening, at the 
breach. 

Just before sunset a massive column of the French was 



iJlO NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

seen advancing, and it was suffered by the Turks to mount 
the breach, but, in the Pasha's garden, came upon a 
second and almost impregnable line of defence, erected 
by Philipeaux in view of just such an event. Here the 
Turks rushed upon them in overwhelming numbers, and 
the advance of the French were massacred almost to a 
man. The rest retreated precipitately, leaving General 
Rambeaud dead, and carrying off General Lannes 
wounded. A reinforcement of English coming up, the 
officers very nearly suffered the fate of the French 
advance, for many of the newly arrived Turkish troops 
did not know the English uniform, and took them for 
French. The fighting consequent upon this assault did 
not terminate until the next day. 

Kleber's division had been ordered to the assault again, 
but were met by a sortie, in which the besieged gained 
the third parallel of the attack, and spiked some of the 
French guns, and Kleber, instead of storming the fortress, 
was occupied in recovering their works, which involved 
great loss on both sides. During the progress of the 
siege, a dreadful accident occurred on board the English 
ship Theseus — seventy large shells exploding on her 
poop — killing and wounding eighty-seven of her officers 
and ship's company. The ship herself was dreadfully 
shattered. 

After the failure of Kleber's attack the French troops 
could not be brought to mount the breach again. The 
plague, which had committed such ravages among them 
at Jaffa, broke out again, probably from the horribly 
putrid stench of the great number of unburied bodies, 
and especially of those built into the epaulements and 
traverses, added to fatigue and shortness of provisions; 
a flag of truce was sent in, to propose a cessation of 
hostilities, to allow them to bury the dead. This Djezzar 



SIR SIDNEY SMITH AND HIS SEAMEN AT ACRE.. 31 J 

would not permit. The rlag- had hardly performed its 
duties and withdrawn, when a shower of shot and shell 
from the French batteries announced the commencement 
of another attack, which was made with fury and despera- 
tion. But the garrison was prepared, and the French 
were once more driven back, with great slaughter. In 
the night of the 20th of May the French raised^he siege, 
and made a precipitate retreat, leaving twenty-three pieces 
of battering cannon behind them. 

Sir Sidney Smith remained at Acre until the middle of 
June, rendering the Turks all assistance in once more 
placing the fortress in a state of defence. 

This celebrated siege lasted sixty-one days. The 
besiegers had marched to the assault no less than eight 
times, while the besieged made eleven desperate sallies. 
Bonaparte, in his reports to the French Directory, gave 
many flimsy reasons for his want of success. 

Speaking of it afterwards, at St. Helena, he attempted 
to put the whole blame of his non-success upon the French 
naval^ officers who had failed to engage and drive away 
Sir Sidney Smith and his squadron. He said that if he 
had succeeded in his plans the whole face of the worid 
would have been changed. "Acre," he said, "would 
have been taken ; the French army would have gone to 
Damascus and Aleppo ; in the twinkling of an eye they 
would have been on the Euphrates ; the Syrian Christians 
would have joined us; the Druses, the Armenians, would 
have united with us." Some one remarked, "We might 
have been reinforced to the number of one hundred 
thousand men." " Say six hundred thousand," Bonaparte 
replied; "who can calculate the amount? I would have 
reached Constantinople and the Indies; I would have 
changed the face of the worid !" 
20 A 



,'^12 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



FOUDKOYANT AND CONSORTS, IN ACTION 
WITH THE GUILLAUME TELL 1800. 




'URING the early part of the year 1800, a 
British squadron, composed of the eighty- 
gun ship Foudroyant, Captain Sir Edward 
Berry (the same who was captured in the 
Leander, after the battle of the Nile, ag 
bearer of despatches), and beadng the flag 
of Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson, the 74-gun 
ship Alexandria, Captain Ball, the 64-gun 
ship Lion, Captain Dixon, and the^6-gun frigate Penel- 
ope, Captain Blackwood, with two or three sloops and 
smaller vessels, was stationed off Malta, then in French 
possession, to prevent succors from being thrown into 
that island, and to watch the movements of the French 
ships which were in that safe port. 

Among the latter, lying in Valetta, was the French 
80-gun ship Guillaume Tell, Rear-Admiral Denis Decres, 
and Captain Saunier. 

The Guillaume Tell was one of the two French line- 
of-batde-ships which had escaped from the battle of the 
Nile, and she had taken refug-e at Malta. 

Decres occupied so exalted a position, afterwards, that 

It will be necessary, before beginning the account of a 

very remarkable battle, to give some account of his life. 

This very distinguished French naval officer was born 

in 1762, and died in 1820. He entered the navy early, 



FOUDROYANT AND THE GUILLAUME TELL. 313 

and won his first promotion under Count De Grasse, in 
America, while he afterwards distinguished himself in the 
friorate squadron which France sent to the East Indies 
to annoy the English commerce. In 1793 he was a 
" capitaine de vaisseau,'' but was deprived of his rank- 
by the Revolutionists, because he was a noble. Escaping 
the guillotine, when thousands of others perished, he was 
restored to his rank in the navy in 1795. In 1798 he 
attained the rank of Rear-Admiral, and in that capacity 
was present at the capture of Malta. He then served at 
the batde of the Nile, and came back to Malta with the 
few French vessels that escaped. These were soon 
blockaded by the English in the harbor of Valetta. 
Decres, in conjunction with General Vaubois, conducted 
the defence of Malta, which continued for seventeen 
months 

In March, 1800, provisions fell short, and much sickness 
appeared in the French garrison, and Decres concluded 
to embark about twelve hundred men on board the 
Guillaume Tell, and force the blockade. The Eno-lish 
frigate Penelope followed him, but was able to offer no 
resistance. The next day Decres fell in with more 
English ships, and the celebrated engagement which we 
shall relate further on ensued. Although conquered at 
last, Decres received a sword of honor from the First 
Consul, Bonaparte, for his conduct, and the English 
" Naval Chronicle" says that this was the warmest re- 
sistance ever made by a foreign man-of-war against a 
superior British force. 

Upon his return from captivity in England, Decres was 
successively appointed Prefet Maritime, Commandant of 
the Western Fleet, and Minister of Marine. He continued 
to act in this capacity as long as the French Empire 
lasted ; and in it he showed great administrative ability. 



314 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

During his administration the great works at Cherbourg 
were materially advanced; as well as those at Nieuwe 
Dieppe and Flushing, while the docks and constructioc 
yards of Antwerp were wholly created. He managed to 
keep up, and even increase, the strength of the French 
navy, in spite of their great losses ; and he collected the 
great flotilla of Boulogne, which circumstances renderec^ 
useless, however. 

Napoleon, who made him, in succession, a Count, 
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, and finally, a Duke, 
recalled him to his old position during the Hundred 
Days; and when the Emperor finally fell, he was retired 
by the Bourbon government. 

Duke Decres survived many bloody batdes, to be at 
last assassinated by his valet. This man, who had been 
robbing him for a long dme, placed a quandty of powder, 
with a slow match, under Decres' mattress. Stealing into 
the Duke's bedroom at night, he blew him up. The 
valet, in his perturbation at what he had done, threw 
himself out of the window, and was killed. His master 
died a few days after, aged 58 years. 

And now to return to this celebrated action. 

At eleven o'clock at night, on the 30th of March, iSoo, 
the Guillaume Tell, taking advantage of a strong south- 
erly gale, and the darkness that had succeeded the setting 
of the moon, weighed anchor and put to sea. 

About midnight the English frigate Penelope, which 
was on guard off the harbor, discovered the French ship, 
under a press of sail, with the wind on the starboard 
quarter. The Penelope at once made the necessary 
signals to the other blockading ships, and then tacked, 
and stood after the Tell. In half an hour she was close 
up with the chase, and luffed up, and gave the Tell her 



FOUDROYANT AND THE GUILLAUME TELL. 815 

whole broadside; receiving in return, only the Tell's 
chase guns. 

The French ship, aware that if she brought to, she 
would soon have upon her the whole of the English block- 
ading ships, whose lights could be already seen on the 
horizon, wisely kept her course to the northward. 

The Penelope was faster than the Tell, and was 
commanded by an experienced seaman, and she continued 
to follow her, and to occasionally luff; and pour in a 
broadside, so that, just before daybreak, the Guillaume 
Tell's main and mizzen-top-masts, and her main-yard 
came down. She was thus reduced, except her mizzen, 
to her head-sails; and these were gready damaged by 
the Penelope's shot. She had also lost many men from 
the English frigate's raking shots. 

The Penelope skillfully avoided exposing herself to a 
broadside from so powerful a ship, and had the good 
fortune to escape much damage to her sails and rigging. 
She had lost her master, killed, and a few wounded. 

About five in the morning the Lion, 64, after pressing 
sail, arrived up. Steering between the Penelope and the 
crippled Guillaume Tell, and so near to the latter that the 
yard-arms of the two ships barely passed clear, the Lion 
ranged up on the port side of her opponent, and poured 
in a destrucdve double- shotted broadside. The Lion then 
luffed up across the bow of the Guillaume Tell, the jib- 
boom of the latter passing between the main and mizzen 
shrouds of the former. Of course, with an inferior 
complement of men, the Lion did not wish to be boarded, 
and, fortunately for her, the Tell's jib-boom soon carried 
away, leaving the Lion inaccessible to boarders, but in 
an excellent position across the Guillaume Tell's bows. 
Here the Lion, aided by the Penelope kept up a heavy 
fire, for about half an hour, when the Tell had so damaged 



316 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the Lion that she was forced to drop astern; still firing, 
however, as did the Penelope, whenever an opportunity 
offered. 

At six o'clock the Foudroyant came up. Lord Nelson 
was not on board, having" been left, sick, at Palermo; and 
Captain Dixon, of the Lion, was the senior officer to 
Captain Sir Edward Berry, of the Foudroyant. The 
latter ship, under a crowd of sail, ranged up so close to 
the Guillaume Tell that her spare anchor just cleared the 
Tell's mizzen-chains, and called to her to strike; accom- 
panying the summons by a treble-shotted broadside. The 
only answer of the French ship was a similar broadside, 
which cut away a good deal of the Foudroyant's rigging. 
The latter, having so much sail set, necessarily shot 
ahead, and did not ao^ain o^et alono^side the Tell for 
several minutes. Then the two large ships engaged, and 
the Guillaume Tell's second broadside brought down many 
of the English ship's spars, and cut her sails to pieces. 
She then dropped alongside the Tell, still firing occasion- 
ally; as did the Lion, on the Tell's port side, and the 
Penelope, on her port quarter. Under this unremitting 
and galling fire the gallant French ship's main and mizzen 
masts came down ; and the Foudroyant, having cleared 
away the wreck of her fallen spars, and to some extent 
refitted her rigging, again closed with the Guillaume Tell, 
and after a few broadsides, was nearly on board her. At 
eight o'clock the foremast of the Tell fell, and she was 
totally dismasted. At a few minutes after eight the 
gallant Frenchman was rolling, an unmanageable hulk, 
with the wreck of her masts disabling her port guns, and 
the violent rolling, in her dismasted state, requiring the 
lower deck ports, on both sides, to be closed. 

The Foudroyant was on one quarter, the Lion on the 



FOUDROYANT Al/D THE GUILLAUME TELL. 317 

Other, and the Penelope close ahead. Under these 
circumstances the Guillaume Tell struck her colors. 

Both the Foudroyant, 80, and the Lion, 64, were in too 
disabled a state to be able to take possession of the 
French 80-gun ship. That duty devolved upon the 
Penelope. The other vessels had enough to do to take 
care of themselves. Some English brig sloops and a 
bomb-vessel witnessed this singular engagement, but 
appear to have taken no part in it. 

A more heroic defence than that of the Guillaume 
Tell is not be found in the record of naval acdons ; and 
the defeat in this case was more honorable than half the 
single ship victories which have been so loudly praised. 
To the Penelope belongs the special credit, next to the 
Guillaume Tell herself Next to the frigate, credit is due 
to the Lion. It was, of course, the arrival of the Fou- 
droyant which turned the scale. Had that ship, single 
handed, and so nearly matched, met the Tell, the 
contest would have been between two of the most pow- 
erful ships that had ever so met, and the chances are that 
the Guillaume Tell, so gallandy manned, and so ably 
commanded, would have come off the conqueror. This 
is conceded by all the English accounts. 

All of the vessels engaged, except the Penelope, were 
so damaged that it was with difficulty they reached port; 
the Penelope towing the prize into Syracuse. 

The Guillaume Tell was eventually taken to England, 
and received into the Royal Navy under the name of 
Malta, and she long remained one of the finest ships in 
the English service. 



318 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



NAVAL OPERATIONS AT ABOUKIR BAY, AND 
CAPTURE OF ALEXANDRIA. A. D. 1801. 




j^fT being determined to effect the expulsion of 
the French from Egypt, a joint expedition 
was agreed upon between England and 
Turkey, On March 2d, 1801, the English 
part of the expedition anchored in the bay 
of Aboukir, which had already been the scene 
of two momentous battles within a very short 
time. The Turkish part of the expedition did 
not make its appearance, having been dispersed by bad 
weather. The English force consisted of seven sail-of-the- 
line, and several frigates and sloops, under the command 
of Admiral Lord Keith, in the Foudroyant, 80. These 
escorted a large number of disarmed men-of-war and 
transports, which conveyed about i 7,000 English troops, 
under Sir Ralph Abercrombie. The whole day of arrival 
was taken up in anchoring this numerous fleet, and then 
a succession of high northerly gales, with a heavy surf, 
prevented the landing of the troops until the 8th of 
March. This gave the French time to muster all the 
force which they could spare to oppose the landing. 
This is stated in the British account to have been about 
3000, while the French put it down at not more than 
I 200 men. There is every probability, however, that the 
French left out of their estimate the cavalry and artillery, 
which were certainly engaged in disputing the English 



CAPTURE or ALEXANDRIA. 319 

landing. The French troops were under the command 
of General Friant, who, with great judgment, had stationed 
a part of his men and several pieces of artillery on an 
almost inaccessible hill that commanded the whole place 
of disembarkation, while other parties, with field pieces 
and mortars, occupied excellent positions afforded by the 
neighboring ground. 

In good season, on the morning of the 8th, the boats 
of the fleet formed in line abreast, in the same order in 
which the troops, consisting of the first division of about 
six thousand men, were to form when landed. They then 
pulled rapidly towards the beach, which extends between 
the Castle or Fort of Aboukir and the river Sed. The 
whole of the landing arrangements were in charge of 
Captain Cochrane, of the Ajax; and the boats were 
partially protected, in their landing, by the guns of armed 
cutters, gun-boats, and launches, as well as by three sloops 
and two bomb-vessels. 

As soon as the boats got near the shore a very sharp 
and steady hre of grape and musketry was opened upon 
them from behind the sand hills, while Aboukir fort, on 
the right, kept up a very galling fire of heavy shot and 
shell. But the boats pushed on, without check or con- 
fusion, the beach was gained, and a footing on dry land 
obtained. They then formed and advanced, and soon 
obtained possession of all the points from which the 
French were annoying them. The boats then returned, 
without delay, for the second division; and before night 
the whole army, with sufficient stores for present wants, 
was safely landed. Few except naval men can appreciate 
the difiiculties to be encountered in such an operation as 
this, especially when the landing is upon an open coast, 
and such an undertaking, accomplished quickly and in 



320 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

good order, and without loss, is always considered 
extremely creditable. 

A detachment of looo seamen, under Captain Sir 
Sidney Smith, formed part of the landing force. Their 
duty was to drag the cannon up the sand hills, a service 
which diey performed in a manner which called forth the 
applause of the army, and in which they suffered con- 
siderably. The French, when driven from the hill, left 
behind them seven pieces of artillery and a considerable 
number of horses. 

On the I 2th the Bridsh army moved forward, and came 
in sight of the French posidon, which was an advanta- 
geous one, along the ridge, their left resting upon the sea 
and their right upon the canal of Alexandria, better 
known to us, in late operations there, as the Mahmoudieh 
canal. 

The French had received reinforcements, under Gen- 
eral Lanusse, and numbered about 7000. The following 
day a battle was fought, in which the seamen, under Sir 
Sidney Smith, and the marines of the fleet, under Colonel 
Smith, bore a full share. At the terminadon of the acdon 
the English took up a position within three miles of 
Alexandria. This movement caused the capitulation of 
Aboukir castle. 

On March 21st occurred the decisive battle of the 
campaign. The French made a desperate attack upon 
the English lines, about an hour before daylight, but, after 
a bloody and desperate contest against greatly superior 
numbers, were forced to retire. The British sustained 
a very heavy loss, however, and the Commanding Gen- 
eral, Sir Ralph Abercrombie, was mortally wounded, 
living only a few days. In this battle the seamen again 
parUcipated, and Sir Sidney Smith was among the 
wounded. 



CAPTURE OF ALEXANDRIA. 321 

Alexandria was now completely shut in ; and no very 
important event took place until August 1 6th, when a naval 
force under Sir Sidney Smith made a demonstration of 
attack upon the city, and the French set fire to their 
flotilla, lying in the harbor. A week after this the fortified 
castle of Marabout, which protects the entrance to the 
western harbor of Alexandria, surrendered to a combined 
naval and military attack. This fort is about eight miles 
west of the city, and is one of those about which we heard 
so much in the late bombardment by the British iron-clads. 
On the nearer approach of the combined forces the 
garrison of Alexandria sank several vessels to block up 
the channel, and brought their few remaining ships nearer 
to the town. But these were expiring efforts. On the 
27th of August General Menou sent to Lieutenant- 
General Hutchinson, who had succeeded Abercrombie, to 
request a three days' armistice. This was granted, and 
on September 2d, Alexandria and its garrison capitulated. 

Recent events have made these operations once more 
interesting. General Hutchinson (afterwards Lord 
Donoughmore) was, like Sir Garnet Wolseley, an Irish- 
man, and their careers are, in many respects, alike. 

Hutchinson entered the English army in 1774, as a 
cornet of dragoons, and in nine years rose to the rank 
of colonel. A Major-General in 1796,116 became second 
in command in Egypt in 1801, as a Lieutenant-General, 
and succeeded to the command on Abercrombie's death. 
He advanced, like Wolseley, as far as Cairo, when a 
capitulation took place, and the war ended. 



322 



NAVAL BAriLES. AMCIENT AND MUDERN. 



THE CUniNG OUT OF THE CHEVRETTE. 
JULY, A. D. 1801. 




HE cutting out of vessels from harbors and 
from under the protection of shore bat- 
teries, belongs exclusively to a past condi- 
tion of naval warfare. Even under the 
peculiar conditions of our late civil war 
and blockade, cutting-out expeditions, when 
the object was the capture of an armed 
vessel, were not so numerous as might 
have been supposed, although most remarkable and 
gallant actions were performed in this way by both sides. 
As an example of a "cutting-out expedition," we are 
tempted to give that of the French 20-gun corvette 
Chevrette. Such actions are decisive, on account of the 
discouragement and destruction of morale brought upon 
the defeated side, and by the corresponding confidence 
and elation of the victors. 

In the summer of 1801 the French and Spanish com- 
bined fleet was lying in Brest harbor, with Admiral 
Cornwallis and a British fleet watching them. The more 
effectually to prevent the Franco-Spanish fleet from getting 
to sea without his knowledge, the Admiral had detailed 
a squadron of three frigates, under Captain Brisbane, of 
the Doris, to lie off Point Mathias, in full view of the 
combined fleet. 

During the month of July these frigates observed the 



THE carriNci (jut of the chevrette. 323 

French corvette Chevrette at anchor in Camaret bay, 
under some batteries; a position considered by the 
French almost as secure as Brest harbor, and a capital 
place for a cruiser to lie and watch the chances of the 
blockade to get to sea. In spite of her position under the 
batteries, the British resolved to attempt her capture. 
Accordingly, on the night of the 20th of July, the boats 
of the Beaulieu and Doris frigates, manned entirely by 
volunteers, P'-i Ji under the orders of a Lieutenant 
Losack, who had been sent in from the flag-ship, by 
Admiral Cornwallis, to take the command, proceeded on 
the enterprise. The boats soon separated, the crews of 
the faster ones being too zealous and excited to slacken 
their efforts, so that the heavier boats could not keep up 
with them. We can readily imagine, too, that a sti-ange 
officer, sent In by influence, to command such an expedi- 
tion, would not receive as cheerful support as would one 
of their own. Some of the boats got lost, and returned 
to the ships; the rest, after reaching the entrance to the 
bay, where they expected to be joined by their com- 
panions, lay upon their oars until daybreak. They then 
pulled back to their ships. But the mischief was done; 
they had been discovered from the corvette and from the 
shore, and the effect was to put them on their guard, 
and prevent any good being got from a surprise, in case 
of a renewed attempt. 

On the 2 1 St the Chevrette got under way, and aftei 
running about a mile and a half further up the bay 
moored again, under some heavy batteries on the shore 
Here she took on board a number of soldiers, sufficient 
to bring up her number on board to about three hundred 
and forty. 

Her guns were loaded with grape, and every prepara- 
tion made to resist to the last. The shore batteries were 



324 NAVAL BATfLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

also prepared; and temporary redoubts were thrown up 
at adjacent points, while a gun-boat was moored as a 
guard-boat at the entrance of the bay. All these precau- 
tions taken, the corvette saucily displayed, in defiance, a 
large French ensign above an English one, which could be 
plainly seen from the anchorage of the English frigates. 

The English now had their pride aroused, and thai 
very night, about ten o'clock, the boats of the three 
frigates, with the barge and pinnace of the Robust, 74, 
and numbering fifteen in all, and still commanded by 
Lieutenant Losack, proceeded to try the French corvette 
a second time. 

Shortly after starting Lieut. Losack, with his own and 
five other boats, went in pursuit of a lookout boat of the 
French, which it was important to secure. The rest of 
the boats were directed to await the return of the com- 
manding officer. After waiting for a considerable time, 
without his return, the officer next in command, Lieut. 
Keith Maxwell, of the Beaulieu, considerine that the 
boats had at least six miles to pull, and that the night 
was already far advanced, resolved to proceed without 
him. 

They did so at once, after he had given orders that, 
while one party was engaged in disarming the enemy's 
crew on deck, the smartest top-men of the Beaulieu 
should fight their way aloft and cut loose the sails; others 
were detailed to cut the cables, and others to go to the 
wheel. Some other arrangements made, the nine boats, 
under Maxwell, bent to their oars, and steered for the 
enemy. 

At one o'clock in the morning of the 2 2d, the nine 
boats came in sight of the Chevrette, and the latter, after 
hailing, opened a heavy fire of grape and musketry upon 
her assailants, and this was seconded by a fire of 



THE CUTTING OUT OF THE CHEVRETTE, S25 

musketry from the shore. But the boats pulled steadily 
on, and the Beaulieu's boats, under Maxwell himself, 
boarded the vessel on the starboard bow and quarter, 
Those of the Uranie, one of the Robust's, and one of the 
Doris' boarded on the port bow. These latter had been 
cheered on by the gallant Lieut. Martin Neville, who 
was conspicuous throughout, and who was wounded. The 
attempt to board was most obstinately resisted by the 
French, with fire-arms, sabres, tomahawks and pikes; 
arid they, in their turn, boarded the boats. During this 
formidable opposition over the side of the vessel the 
English lost most of their fire-arms; but, by obsdnate 
fighdng, at last forced their way on board, mosdy armed 
with their cudasses alone. Those who had been ordered 
to go aloft fought their way to the rigging; and, although 
some were killed, and others wounded, the remainder 
gained the corvette's yards. Here they found the foot- 
ropes strapped up, but they soon managed to loose the 
sails, and, in the midst of the fight sdll going on for the 
possession of the deck, down came the Chevrette's three 
top-sails and courses. The cable having. In the mean- 
time, been cut outside the ship, she began, under a light 
breeze from the land, to drift out of the bay. 

No sooner did the Frenchmen (who had up to that 
time, been fighdng most gallantly), see the sails fall, and 
their ship under way, than they lost heart. Some of them 
jumped overboard, and made for the shore; while others 
dropped their arms, and ran below, so that the English 
got possession of the quarter-deck and forecasde; but 
the corvette's crew that had fled below still maintained a 
hot fire from the main deck, and from up the hatchways^ 
and it took a considerable dme before these were over- 
powered, and compelled to submit. 

It Is related in the Naval Chronicle that Mr. Brown 
21 A 



S26 lAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Boatswain of the Beaulieu, in boarding, forced his way into 
the Chevrette's quarter gallery, but found the door so 
securely barricaded that he could not force it. Through 
the crevices in the- planks he could see men, armed with 
pikes and pistols, who frequently shot at him through the 
panels, as he attempted to burst in. Failing in the 
quarter gallery, he tried the quarter, and after a great 
deal of resistance, gained the vessel's taffrail. The officer 
in command of the party was at diis time fighting his way 
up on the quarter, but not yet on board. The boatswain 
stood up for a moment, a mark for the enemy's fire, see- 
ino- in which direction he should attack. Second nature 
then directed him to make for the forecasde, where he felt 
most at home; and gathering a few men, and waving his 
cutlass, with "Make a lane there!" dashed in, and fought 
his way the whole length of the ship. Then, with the 
men animated by his example he soon cleared the fore- 
casde, which he held for the rest of the contest, although 
frequendy assailed. Here, after the vessel was carried, 
he was seen attending to orders from the quarter-deck, 
and assisting in casdng the ship and making sail, with as 
much coolness as if he had been on board the Beaulieu. 

On her way out of the bay, during a short interval of 
calm, the Chevrette became exposed to a heavy fire from 
the batteries on shore; but the fair, light breeze soon 
arose again, and carried her clear of them. Just at this 
time the six boats under Lieut. Losack joined her, and 
Lieut. Maxwell, was, of course, superseded in his com- 
mand, but not until he had accomplished all that there 
was to be done. 

Three two-deckers got under way and came out from 
Brest Roads with the view of recapturing the Chevrette; 
but the near approach of the British in-shore squadron 
compelled them to return to their anchorage, and the 



THE CUTTING OUT OF THE CHEVRETTE. 827 

captors carried *off their prize safely. In this spirited 
engagement the EngHsh had eleven killed, fifty-seven 
wounded, and one drowned. The latter was in one of the 
English boats sunk by the French shot. 

The Chevrette lost her captain, two lieutenants, three 
midshipmen, one lieutenant of soldiers, and eighty-five 
seamen and troops killed; and one lieutenant, four mid- 
shipmen, and fifty-seven seamen and troops wounded; 
total, 92 killed and 62 wounded. 



328 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



BOAT ATTACK UPON THE FRENCH FLOTILLA, 
AT BOULOGNE. A. D. 1801, 




NOTHER boat attack of the English upon 
the French, in the same year as the cut- 
ting-out of the Chevrette, did not result 
so favorably for the attacking party, even 
if their exertions were directed by no 
less a person than Lord Nelson himself. 
The fall of the year 1801 was the 
season decided upon by Napoleon for 
putting in execution his famous plan for invading Eng- 
land, As this became known it was thought desirable, 
by his vigilant and powerful enemies on the other side 
of the Channel, to attack the flotilla of gun-boats and 
small craft which he had collected at Boulogne, and other 
ports, for the conveyance of his army. Accordingly, on 
July 30th, Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson hoisted his flag on 
board the frigate Medusa, 32, then lying in the Downs, as 
commander-in-chief, not only of the squadron for the 
special service, but of all the defences constructing along 
the south shores of England, from Orfordness to Beachey 
Head. 

On the 3d of August Lord Nelson, having with him 
about thirty vessels, great and small, stood across to 
Boulogne, the port whence it was supposed the main 
attempt would be made against England, and which the 



ATTACK UPON FRENCH FLOTILLA AT BOULOGNE. 329 

French, fearing attack themselves, had recently been 
fortifying with considerable care. 

On the morning of the 4th the English bomb-vessels 
threw their shells among the French flotilla, which con- 
sisted of twenty-four brigs, many lugger-rigged flats, and a 
schooner, anchored in line in front of the town. These 
brigs were vessels of about 200 tons, an-d generally armed 
with from four to eight heavy long guns. The lugger-flats 
drew but about three or four feet of water, had very stout 
bulwarks, and were armed with a 13-inch mortar, a long 
gun, swivels and small arms. They each carried about 
thirty men in crew, and one hundred and fifty soldiers 
besides. Bonaparte had an immense number of these 
lugger-flats constructed, all along the northern coast of 
France, for the conveyance of his army. It is hard to see 
how they were to be successful in accomplishing the 
object, in that spot of swift, uncertain tides, irregular 
currents, and most changeable weather. Nelson's 
bombardment of Boulogne, on the morning of the 4th of 
August, amounted to nothing, and he retired. 

On the night of August 13th, however. Nelson dis- 
patched the armed boats of his squadron, formed into 
four grand divisions, and commanded by four captains, 
and accompanied by a division of mortar-boats, to attempt 
to capture and bring off the French flotilla at Boulogne, 
which had been very much strengthened since the last 
attack. 

The boats put off from Nelson's flag-ship at about half 
past eleven at night, in perfect order ; but the darkness 
of the night cooperadng with the ddes and currents, soon 
separated the divisions. One of them, indeed, was 
obliged to return, and never reached the scene of acdon 
at all. Another division was carried by the currents far 
to the eastward, but at length, by dint of great exerdon, 



330 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

reached the French flotilla just before daylight. Some 
portion of the boats then attacked, and after a short 
contest carried, a brig lying close to the pier head, but 
were prevented from towing her off, in consequence of 
her being secured with chains, and partly because of a 
heavy fire of musketry and grape-shot from the shore, 
and from other vessels moored close to. 

In fact, the English "caught a Tartar," and, abandoning 
their single prize, as the day broke pushed out of the 
range of French fire. They had accomplished nothing, 
and this division, which was commanded by Captain 
Somerville, had eighteen killed and fifty-five wounded. 

Another division, under Captain Parker, had less 
trouble from the current, and got to the scene of action 
half an hour after midnight. They attacked one of the 
largest of the French brigs, most gallandy and impetu- 
ously, but a very strong boarding netting, triced up 
completely to her lower yards, baffled the British in their 
endeavors to board, while a general discharge of her 
o-reat o-uns and small arms, the latter from about 200 
soldiers on board, dashed the assailants back, bleeding 
and dazed, into their boats. Some other vessels were 
attacked, with a like result, and this division had also to 
reUre, with a loss of twenty-one killed, and forty-two 
wounded. 

The third and last division of Nelson's boats which 
succeeded in reaching the enemy attacked with the same 
gallantry, and were repulsed as decidedly. They had five 
killed and twenty-nine wounded. Grand total, 44 killed, 
and 126 wounded. In addldon the English had to leave 
behind them not a few of their boats ; and the affair was 
in every respect a triumph for the French, in spite of the 
master mind which conceived it. 



COPENHAGEN, 



331 



COPENHAGEN. A. D. 1801. 




^^N the year 1800 the surrender of M^Va* cu 
the Enghsh fleet gave it the mastery in -the 
Mediterranean; and General Abr,rcrombie, 
with a British force, landing at Aboukir Bay, 
defeated the French army which Bonaparte 
had left in Egypt, and which soon after 
found itself forced to surrender. 

By the evacuation of Egypt, India was 
secured, and Turkey was prevented from becoming a 
dependency of France. 

England now turned her attention to the Northern 
coalition. 

The treaty of Luneville had left her alone In the 
struggle against France. 

The Northern powers, wishing to secure their com- 
merce from insult and capture by the always increasing 
naval power of England, had formed a coalition, headed 
by the Czar Peter, and revived the claim that a neutral 
flag should cover even contraband of war. 

Denmark, which had been very active in the combina- 
tion, was the first to feel the weight of the anger of the 
British Cabinet. 

The Danish naval force consisted of about ten sail of 
seventy-fours and sixty-fours, in fair order, and of about 
as many more which were unsennceable. The Russians 
had about twenty sail available, and the Swedes eleven sail. 



332 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

In the month of March, 1801, before the fleets of 
Sweden and Russia could join that of Denmark, and thus 
form a combined fleet which could hope to resist English 
encroachments, England dispatched a fleet to the 
Cattegat, under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, with Lord 
Nelson as second in command. 

This fleet carried a commissioner, with full powers to 
treat, and charged to offer to the Danes peace or war. 
Peace^ if they abandoned the Northern confederation, by 
opening the passage of the Sound to England, and by 
forbidding their men-of-war to protect their merchant 
convoys from the arbitrary and insolent visits of English 
men-of-war; war, if Denmark wished to preserve her 
maridme independence. The Danish government indig- 
nantly repelled the insulting ultimatum; and the English 
fleet at once forced the passage of the Sound, in spite of 
the batteries erected to prevent it. The King of Den- 
mark had hastened to prepare his Capital and its 
surroundings for defence; and the Prince Royal took 
command of the whole of the operations, military and 
naval. As regards the operations of the British fleet, we 
shall now follow the English accounts, as they do not 
materially difler from those which come from Danish and 
French sources. The severe action which followed 
redounded to the glory of Nelson (the Commander-in- 
chief, Sir Hyde Parker, being quite a secondary charac- 
ter), as well as to the conspicuous and stubborn courage 
of the Danes. 

We must remember that the great genius of Nelson 
directed the best efforts of some of the best and hardiest 
men-of-war's men of the time; while the Danes, after a 
long peace, were little accustomed either to stand fire, or 
to naval evolutions. But, nevertheless, they fought with 
devoted bravery; and made a most gallant, though 



COPENHAGEN. S^d 

ineffectual resistance ; seldom equaled, and never 
excelled. 

To return to the action. The pilots, who were to take 
the fleet in, through very shallow waters, and channels 
between dangerous sand-bars, and who were not to share 
the honors, found it well to magnify the dangers of the 
shallow Sound ; and their conduct caused some delay. 

During this time, Sir Hyde Parker sent a flag of truce 
to the Governor of Elsinore, to inquire if he meant to 
oppose the passage of the fleet through the Sound. It is 
almost Impossible to imagine a greater insult to a weak 
nation, than such an inquiry. Governor Strieker, to his 
honor, replied that the guns of the Castle would 
certainly be fired at any British ships of war which 
approached. At length, on the morning of the 30th of 
March, the British fleet weighed anchor, from a point at 
the entrance of the Sound, and, with the wind about 
northwest, and consequently fair, proceeded into the 
Sound, in line ahead. The English fleet was composed 
of the 98-gun ship London, Sir Hyde Parker's flag-ship, 
and the St. George, 98, with the flag of Vice-Admiral 
Lord Nelson. There were, in addition, eleven 74s, five 
64s, one 54, one 50, one 38, two 2,^^^ and one 32. 

Of these, six 74s, three 64s, and all the smaller vessels 
were afterwards placed under Nelson's orders, and bore 
the brunt of the battle. 

As the fleet entered the Sound, the van division was 
commanded by Lord Nelson, in the Elephant, a 74 (into 
which ship, as a lighter and more active one than the St. 
George, he had, on the preceding day, shifted his flag), 
Xhe centre division by the Commander-in-chief, and the 
rear division by Rear-Admiral Graves. At seven the 
batteries at Elsinore commenced firing at the Monarch, 
which was the leading ship, and at the other ships, as they 



334 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

passed in succession. The distance was, however, so 
great, that not a shot struck the ships; and only the van 
ships fired in return, and even those did not fire more 
than three broadsides. A gun burst on one of the 
EngHsh ships, and killed seven men, and this comprised 
the whole loss in the passage of the Sound. The English 
bomb-vessels, seven in number, threw shell at the Danes, 
however, and thereby killed and wounded a few in 
Cronenberof and Helsino-en. As the Strait at Elsinore i;> 
less than three miles across, a mid-channel passage would 
have exposed the ships to a fire from Cronenberg Castle 
on the one side, and from the Swedish town of Helsin- 
borg on the other; but the latter had very inconsiderable 
batteries, and did not make even a show of opposition. 
On observing this, the British inclined to the Swedish 
shore, passing within less than a mile of it, and thus 
avoiding a fire that, coming from nearly one hundred 
pieces of cannon, could not fail to have been destructive. 

About noon the fleet anchored at some distance above 
the Island of Huen, which is about fifteen miles distant 
from Copenhagen. 

Sir Hyde Parker, Vice-Admiral Nelson, and Rear- 
Admiral Graves, then proceeded, in a lugger, to recon- 
noitre the Danish defences; and they soon ascertained 
that they were of considerable strength. In consequence 
of this discovery a council of war was held in the evening, 
with the usual result, a majority urging an abandonment 
of the enterprise, or, at least, a delay in the attack. But 
Nelson prevailed, and offered, if given ten sail-of-the-line, 
and all the small craft, to accomplish the business before 
them. 

Admiral Parker complied, without hesitation; and he, 
moreover, granted Nelson two more ships of-the-line than 
he had asked for. It required light-draft ships for the 



COPENHAGEN. ' 335 

work in hand, for the force at Copenhagen was not the 
only obstacle to be overcome. It was approached by an 
intricate channel, but little known. 

To increase the difficulty, the Danes had removed or 
misplaced the buoys. That same night Lord Nelson 
himself, accompa,nied by Captain Brisbane and some 
others, proceeded to sound and buoy the outer channel, 
a narrow passage lying between the Island of Saltholm 
and the Middle Ground. This was a very difficult and 
fatiguing duty, but was duly accomplished. 

An attack from the eastward was at first contemplated; 
but a second examination of the Danish position, on the 
next day, as well as a favorable change in the wind, 
determined Nelson to commence operations from the 
southward. 

On the morning of the ist of April the British fleet 
weighed anchor, and soon came to again to the northwest 
of the Middle Ground, a shoal that extends along the 
whole sea front of the City of Copenhagen, leaving an 
intervening channel of deep water, called the Konig- 
^stiefe, about three-quarters of a mile wide. In this 
channel, close to the town, the Danes had moored their 
block-ships, radeaus, praams (or armed lighters), and 
other gun-vessels. In the course of the forenoon Lord 
Nelson reconnoitred, for the last time, the position he was 
about to attack; and upon his return, about one in the 
afternoon, the signal to weigh appeared at the Elephant's 
mast-head, and the division set sail, with a light and 
favorable wind. Nelson had, in addition to his force 
already given, been joined by one 28, two 24s, and two 
l8-gun sloops, making his whole force to consist of 
thirty-two sail, large and small. 

Captain Riou led, in the Amazon, 38, and the ships 
entered the upper channel, and coasted along the edge 



336 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of the Middle Ground, until they reached and partly 
rounded the southern extremity. Here they anchored, 
about eight o'clock in the evening, just as it grew dark; 
and they were then about two miles from the southern- 
most ship of the Danish line of defence. 

The same northwesterly wind that had been fair for" 
passing along the outer channel, was now as foul foi 
advancing by the inner one. It was also necessary to 
wait for daylight, in such intricate navigation. The night 
was passed in taking soundings, and the depth was ascer- 
tained, up to the Danish line. 

The additional vessels, consisting of seven bomb-ships, 
two fire-ships, and six gun-brigs were brought in; and 
then there was nothing to do but wait until morning, as 
the few shells thrown by the Danes burst harmlessly. 

We must now look at the Danish force. It consisted 
of eighteen vessels, of different kinds. Some old and 
dismantled two-decked ships, frigates, praams and 
radeaus, mounting, altogether, 628 guns, were moored in 
a line of about a mile in extent. These were flanked at 
the north end, or that nearest the town, by two artificial 
islands, called the Trekroner batteries, one ot thirty 24- 
pounders, and the other of thirty-eight 36-pounders, with 
furnaces for heating shot; and both of them commanded 
by two two-decked block-ships. 

The entrance to the docks and harbor, in the heart of 
the city, was protected by a chain, and by batteries; while, 
in addition, the 74-gun ships Dannemark and Trekroner, 
a frigate, and some large gun-vessels (some of them with 
furnaces for hot shot), were moored about the harbor's 
mouth. Several batteries were built along- the shore of 
Amaag Island, to the southward of the floating line of 
defence; while the indignant Danes flocked to man the 



COPENHAGEN. 337 

works, animated by the desire to repel the invaders by 
every possible means. 

Morning dawned, on the second of April, with a south- 
easterly wind, which was favorable to the English. As soon 
as signals could be seen, one was made for all Captains 
to repair on board the flag-ship, when their stations were 
assigned them. The line-of-battle ships were intended to 
anchor by the stern, abreast of the vessels of the enemy's 
line. Most of the frigates and the fire-ships were to 
operate against the vessels at the harbor's mouth. The 
bomb-vessels were to take their stadons outside the 
British line, so as to throw their shells over it; while two 
frigates and some gun-vessels and brigs were to take a 
position for raking the southern extremity of the Danish 
line. The 49th English Regiment, which was on board 
some of the vessels, and five hundred seamen, under 
Captain Freemande, of the Ganges, were intended, at the 
proper time, to storm the principal of the Trekroner 
batteries. Of course this was to be when the ships had 
silenced its fire. 

By nine o'clock everything was ready; a silence reigned 
before the storm began, and "the stoutest held their 
breath for a time." 

But now Nelson was hampered by the hesitation and 
indecision of the pilots. 

At last Mr. Briarly, the Master of the Bellona. under- 
took to lead the fleet in, and for that purpose went on 
board the Edgar; and at half-past nine the ships began 
to weigh, in succession. The Edgar led. The Aga- 
memnon was to follow, but was unable to weather the 
shoal, and was forced to bring to again, in only six 
fathoms of water. Although she tried again, by warping, 
the current was such that Nelson's old and favorite ship 
was utterly unable to get any nearer 



?,nS NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Two more ships succeeded in following the Edgar, but 
the third, the Bellona, 74. got aground, abreast of the 
Danish block-ship Provesteen, and the Russell, 74, follow- 
ing her, had the same mishap. They were within long 
gun-shot. In compliance with the wish of the pilots, each 
ship had been ordered to pass her leader on the star- 
board side, from a supposidon that the water shoaled on 
the other shore; in fact, the water kept deepening all the 
way to the Danish line. The Elephant came next, and 
Lord Nelson, perceiving the situation of the ships 
aground, by a happy stroke, ordered his helm to be put 
to starboard, and passed within those ships, as did, in 
safety, all those who came after him. Had it not been 
for this, most of the large vessels would have run ashore, 
and been practically useless. As soon as Lord Nelson's 
squadron weighed. Sir Hyde Parker's eight ships did 
the same, and took up a new position to the north, but 
too far off, on account of shoal water, to effect much by 
their fire. 

At ten o'clock the fire opened, and by half-past eleven, 
as the ships came into their stations, the acdon became 
general. Owing to die strength of the current, the 
Jamaica, 28, and many of the English gun-boats were 
unable to get into a position to be of much service, while 
the fire of the bomb-vessels was not nearly so destruc- 
tive as had been expected. 

The absence of the Bellona and Russell, 74s, and of 
the Agamemnon, 64, was much felt, as it caused some of 
the British vessels which got in to have more than their 
share of fire. 

And now the two lines were enveloped in powder 
smoke and flame for three long hours. Horrible scenes, 
and dreadful wounds and destrucdon always follow a 
bombardment by the heavy guns which ships carry, as 



COPENHAGEN. 339 

compared with the field artillery of a land battle. During 
all this time the fiorht was maintained with a coiirag-e and 
persistence seldom equalled, and never excelled. 

At the end of three hours' very heavy firing, few, if 
any, of the Danish block-ships, pi-aams, or radeaus had 
ceased firing; nor could the contest be said to have 
taken a decisive turn for either side. To use a vulvar 
but expressive saying, the English had "a hard nut to 
crack" in the Danes. At this time signals of distress 
were flying at the mast-heads of two English line-of-battle 
ships, and a signal of inability on board a third. 

Sir Hyde Parker, from his distance from the scene of 
action, could judge but imperfectly of the condition of 
affairs. Observing the slow progress, and zig-zag courses 
of the Defence and Ramillies, 74s, and the Veteran, 64. 
which he had despatched as a reinforcement to his Vice- 
Admiral, he argued that matters were not progressing 
favorably for the attacking force; and so he threw out 
the signal for discontinuing the engagement. Had this 
been done, the last ships to retire, of the English, as well 
as those on shore, would have been placed in a most 
dangerous predicament. Lord Nelson chose, on this 
occasion, to disobey orders. It is a remarkable fact that, 
with regard to discipline, some of the greatest leaders 
have been the most recusant. No one can deny Lord 
Nelson's genius as a leader of fleets, but all who are 
interested in navies must regret the example he set upon 
this occasion. He, himself, would have had any man 
shot who disobeyed orders, under fire, as he did Sir Hyde 
Parker's. The result obtained by his disobedience justi- 
fies the act, in the civil mind; but the far-reaching effects 
of disobedience of the kind can only be estimated by those 
who have served in fleets or armies. 

The three frigates and two sloops nearest to the 



340 NAVAL BATTLfiS, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

London and her division, did, Avithout question, obey the 
siofnal, and hauled off from the Trekroner batteries. The 
gallant Captain Riou, of the Amazon, was shot in two, 
and that frigate sustained her greatest loss in obeying 
Sir Hyde Parker's order, which required him to present 
his stern to one of the Trekroner batteries. 

When Sir Hyde Parker made the signal to retire. It 
was reported to Nelson by his signal lieutenant. He 
continued to walk the deck, and appeared to take no 
notice of it. The signal officer met him at the next turn, 
and asked him if he should repeat the signal, as is usual 
with those comino- from a Commander-in-chief to a second 
in command. 

"No," said Nelson, "acknowledge it." 

Presently, Nelson asked the signal lieutenant if the 
signal for close action was still hoisted; and being 
answered In the affirmative, said, "Mind you keep It so!" 

"He now paced the deck, moving the stump of his lost 
arm in a manner that, with him, always Indicated great 
emotion. 'Do you know,' said he, what is shown on 
board the Commander-in-chief?' 'Number 39!' Mr. 
Fergusson asked him what that meant. 'Why, to leave 
off action,' Then, shrugging up his shoulders, he 
repeated the words 'leave off action? now d — n me If I 
do! You know, Foley,' turning to the captain of his flag- 
ship, 'I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind 
sometimes,' and then, putting the glass to his blind eye. 
In that mood of mind which sports with bitterness, he 
exclaimed, ' I really do not see the signal.' Presently he 
exclaimed ' D — n the signal ! Keep mine for closer battle 
flying! That's the way I answer such signals. Nail 
mine to the mast.' " 

About two o'clock in the afternoon the fire of the Danes 
hadb^^gun to slacken ; and soon after It had ceased along 



COPENHAGEN. 341 

nearly their whole line. Some of their light vessels and 
floating batteries had got adrift, and some had struck 
their colors, but could not be taken possession of for 
the reason that the nature of the action was such that 
the crews were continually reinforced from the shore ; 
and fresh men coming on board did not inquire whether 
the flag had been struck, or, perhaps, did not heed it; 
many, or most of them, never having been engaged in 
war before, and knowing nothing, therefore, of its laws, 
thought only of defending their country to the last 
extremity. The firing on the boats which went to take 
possession of those Danish vessels whose flags were 
not flying greatly irritated Nelson ; who, at one time, 
had thoughts of sending in the fire-ships, to burn such 
vessels. 

During the pause in the action, he sent a letter to the 
Danish Crown Prince, in which he said, according to 
Southey, " Vice- Admiral Nelson has been commanded 
to spare Denmark when she no longer resists. The line 
of defence which covered her shores has struck to the 
British flag; but if the firing is continued on the part of 
Denmark, he must set on fire all the prizes that he has taken, 
without having the power of saving the men who have so 
nobly defended them. The brave Danes are the brothers, 
and shou»ld never be the enemies of the English." The 
account goes on to say that a wafer was given him to 
close this letter, but he ordered a candle to be brought 
from the surgeon's quarters, and sealed the letter with 
wax, affixing a larger seal than he ordinarily used. " This," 
«aid he, "is no time to appear hurried or informal," 

Nelson's letter is probably correctly given in Southey, 
but the French say that he asked for Denmark to consent 
at once to leave the Northern Confederation, to permit the 
English to caulk and refit their ships in the Danish dock 

22 A 



342 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

yard; and to receive the English wounded in the Copen- 
hagen hospitals. 

Captain Sir Frederick Thesiger, with a flag of truce, 
carried the letter on shore, and found the Crown Prince 
at the sally-port. The fire of a part of the English line 
against the Danish block-ships was still kept up, and 
about this time silenced them. But the great Trekroner 
battery was comparatively uninjured. This battery there- 
fore continued its fire ; and, having had a reinforcement 
thrown in from the shore, was considered too strong to 
be stormed. 

It was now deemed advisable to withdraw the English 
ships from the intricate channel while the wind continued 
fair ; and preparations to that end were making, when 
the Danish Adjutant-General appeared, bearing a flag of 
truce. Upon this, the Trekroner ceased firing, and the 
action, after continuing five hours, during four of which 
It had been very warmly contested, was brought to a 
close. ^ 

The message was to inquire the particular object of 
Lord Nelson's note. The latter replied that he consented 
to stay hostilities from motives of humanity. He wished 
the Danish wounded to be taken on shore ; to take his 
prisoners out of the prizes ; and to burn or carry off the 
latter, as he should think fit. He also expressed a hope 
for reconciliation between the two countries; a bitter 
thing, under the circumstances. 

Sir Frederick Thesiger, who had returned with the 
Danish Adjutant-General, was again sent with this reply, 
and he was referred to the Crown Prince for a final 
adjustment of terms. It is said that the populace were 
so excited that the flaof-of-truce officer was in danger of 
his life. The Interval was taken advantage of to get the 
leading British ships, all of whom were much crippled in 



COPENHAGEN. 04 a 

"g'ging and sails, out of their very precarious position. 
The Monarch led the way out, but touched on the shoal ; 
but the Ganges, striking her amidships, pushed her over 
it. The Glatton passed clear, but the Elephant and the 
Defiance grounded about a mile from the formidable 
Trekroner battery, and there remained fixed, for many 
hours, in spite of every exertion. The Desiree also 
grounded, close to the Bellona. Soon after the Elephant 
grounded Lord Nelson left her, and followed the Danish 
Adjutant General to the London, Sir Hyde Parker's 
flag-ship. 

Here an important conference was held. It is said 
that Nelson remarked to the Danish officer that "the 
French fight well, but they would not have borne for one 
hour what the Danes have borne for five. I have been 
in many batdes, but that of to-day is by far the most 
terrible." 

During the whole of the night of April 2d the British 
were occupied getting out their prizes, and in floating their 
grounded ships. On the morning of the 3d all of the 
latter but the Desiree were o-ot off 

o * 

The negotiations lasted five days, and during that time 
all the prizes, except the 60-gun ship Holstein, were set 
on fire and destroyed. Most of those so destroyed were 
not worth carrying away. 

On the 9th of April an armisdce of fourteen weeks was 
agreed upon ; Denmark agreeing, in that time, to suspend 
all proceedings under the treaty of armed neutrality 
which she had entered into with Sweden and Russia. 

The prisoners were sent on shore, to be accounted for 
in case hosdlides should be renewed ; and the Bridsh 
fleet had permission to purchase fresh provisions and 
supplies at Copenhagen, and along the coast adjoining. 

In the acdon before Copenhagen the loss, in killed and 



344 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

wounded, of the British fleet, was about twelve hundred. 
The Danish loss is put down at between sixteen and 
eighteen hundred, and, with prisoners taken, at about six 
thousand. 

Although the affair, as a mere fight, might be con- 
sidered a drawn battle, the first overture having come 
from the English, the victory clearly remained with the 
latter, for they got almost everything they demanded. 
The Danes were much inferior in number of guns, and 
are entitled to every credit for the splendid resistance 
they made. 

On the 1 2th of April Admiral Parker despatched to 
England the prize ship Holstein, of 60 guns, conveying 
most of his wounded men, and also one or two of his 
own ships which had been much disabled. He then 
transhipped the guns of his heavy ships into chartered 
vessels, and managed to get his fleet into the Baltic in 
this way, instead of going round by the Belts. This feat 
astonished the Swedes, Russians, Danes and Prussians, 
who had not imagined that such ships could be brought 
into the Baltic by that channel. 

Parker's first object was to attack the Russian squadron, 
at Revel, before the breaking up of the ice should enable 
it to join the Swedish fleet at Carlscrona, The move- 
ment resulted in no battle, but in negotiations, by which 
a peaceable solution of the existing difficulties could be 
had. 

A characteristic action of Lord Nelson may here be 
related. The St. George, his flag-ship, had had great 
difficulty in passing the shoals, and was among the last 
to get over, while Sir Hyde Parker had proceeded, with 
most of the fleet. A head wind set in, and the St. 
George was again detained. Hearing that the Swedish 
fleet had come out. Lord Nelson instantly quitted the St. 



COPENHAGEN. 345 

George, accompanied by the master of the Bellona, Mr. 
Briarly, in a six-oared cutter, to join the Admiral, who 
was twenty-four miles off. They had to pull in the teeth 
of a strong wind and current, and Nelson had not stopped 
even to get a boat-cloak, so necessary at that early season 
of the year. He was in this boat nearly six hours, refus- 
ing to put on a great coat offered him. " No," he said, " I 
am not cold ; my anxiety will keep me warm. Do you 
think the fleet has sailed?" "I should suppose not, my 
Lord," said Briarly. "If they have," said Nelson, "I shall 
follow them to Carlscrona in the boat, by G — d!" Now, 
the distance to Carlscrona was about one hundred and 
fifty miles. 

At midnight Nelson reached the fleet, which had not 
sailed. 

The Emperor Paul had now died, and his successor, 
Alexander ist, was disposed to make overtures looking 
towards peace, so that the succeeding movements of 
Parker and Nelson, in the Baltic, do not come within our 
province. 

COPENHAGEN, 1807. 

In this connection we must refer to another attack 
made by the British upon the luckless city of Copen- 
hagen. 

This is not the place to raise the question as to whether 
governments, as such, should be governed by a different 
code of morality from individuals; or whether "reasons 
of State" (which are generally the will of one man) 
should be substituted with impunity for common human- 
ity, justice, and the rights of man. 

But the impropriety of discussing the question in this 
place should not prevent us from declaring that there 
never was a greater abuse of force than in the second 



34G NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

attack of England on the comparatively feeble State of 
Denmark, in 1807. It is only fair to say that a large 
body of English subjects condemned it then, and con- 
demn it now; and it is the English ministry of that day 
which must bear the blame, in the eyes of succeeding 
generations. 

In the treaty of Tilsit (1807), France and Russia were 
put upon a most intimate and friendly footing; and 
Russia undertook to act as mediator between France and 
England, for the conclusion of a peace, at least as 
regarded maritime operations. In accordance with his 
engagements, the Emperor Alexander addressed a note 
to the English government; but his overtures were very 
coldly received. Castlereagh, Canning and Percival, the 
inheritors of Pitt's policy, and of his hatred of the French 
(but not of his great abilities), saw their power and 
influence upon the Continent of Europe decreasing, while 
Napoleon's was growing. 

They, therefore, determined upon an expedition of 
magnitude, which, while it would occupy the minds of the 
people at home, and thereby disconcert the plans of the 
opposition, would renew the terror in which their arms 
had been held abroad. 

The plan was to renew the attack upon Denmark, as 
in 1 801, but the operations were to he carried out in an 
even more thorouQ^h and ruthless manner. 

Denmark had joined the new coalition against England, 
and Napoleon was at the bottom of it; but no declaration 
of war was made by England against Denmark, and that 
small kingdom, not suspecting any such design at that 
moment, was to see all the horrors of war suddenly let 
loose upon her. Her sole wrong, in the eyes of the 
British Cabinet, was the possession of a navy, still of some 



COPENHAGEN. 347 

Strength, which might be used by the coalition against 
Enoland. 

Denmark was, at the time, observing a strict neutraUty, 
and, although forced to acquiesce in the condition of things 
consequent upon Napoleon's occupation of northern 
Europe, had not joined in the Continental blockade, 
Mistrusting France even more than England, she had 
sent most of her army into Holstein, with a view to caus^ 
ing the French to respect her frontier. The best policy 
of England, under the circumstances, would have been 
to keep on terms with Denmark, and if there was any 
pressure to be exercised to make her take sides in the 
great events then transpiring, to leave the odium of such 
a measure upon Napoleon. But the British Cabinet 
resolved to secure the Danish fleet, at all hazards, and so 
put it out of the power of that nation or of Napoleon 
ever to use it against England. 

To give color to their aggression upon the sovereign 
rights of Denmark, the Bridsh Cabinet alleged that they 
had knowledge of a stipulation in the Treaty of Tilsit, 
which brought Denmark fully into the Condnental coali- 
tion ; and, as we have said, the expedidon was undertaken 
to carry off from Napoleon the Danish naval resources, 
and it was therefore said to be an act of legitimate defence 
on the part of England. 

In the latter part of July, 1807, Admiral Gambler sailed 
from England, with twenty-five sail-of-the-line, forty frig- 
ates, and three hundred and seventy-seven transports, 
carrying 20,000 troops, commanded by General Cathcart. 
The latter was to be joined by seven or eight thousand 
more troops, returning from the siege of Stralsund. At 
this time almost all the Danish troops were in Holstein ; 
and the English plan, a well conceived one, was to seize 
the Belts, with a pordon of the fleet, intercept the passages 



348 NAVAL BATILES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and prevent the return of the Danish army to the reHef 
of Copenhagen. Then a strong land force was to be 
landed near Copenhagen, and that city to be destroyed 
by bombardment, in case she should refuse to surrender. 

The English fleet appeared in the Sound on the 3d of 
August ; and Admiral Gambler at once despatched Com- 
modore Keats, with a suitable force, to secure the Belts, 
and prevent all passage from the mainland to the Danish 
islands. The fleet then proceeded down the Sound, 
and anchored in Elsinore Road. The Admiral sent 
Commissioner Jackson to the Crown Prince, then acting 
as Regent of Denmark, to propose an alliance, offensive 
and defensive, with England. He was also to demand 
the surrender of Kronberg Castle to the English army, 
and the port of Copenhagen and the Danish fleet 
to the navy, protesting that they were only to be held 
until the return of general peace in Europe, and then 
to be loyally returned. These outrageous proposals 
were too much for the Crown Prince's diplomatic reserve. 
"Never in history," he cried out, "was seen so odious an 
attack as is contemplated against Denmark." " We may 
expect more honorable ideas from the Barbary pirates 
than from the English government. You propose an 
alliance ! We know what alliance with you means. We 
have seen your allies waiting a whole year, in vain, for 
promised assistance ! " 

The Commissioner said that England would pay, cash 
down, for any injuries which Denmark might receive in 
consequence of such an alliance. "And with what," said 
the indignant Prince, " would you pay for our lost honor, 
if we acceded to so humiliating a proposition ? " Upon 
receiving this answer Jackson withdrew, and hostilities at 
once began. 

The garrison of Copenhagen consisted of about eight 



COPENHAGEN. 349 

thousand men. There were some regular troops, but the 
most of the defenders were volunteers, students and 
citizens. Entrenchments and batteries were raised, and 
armed; hulks were moored in the passes, and others sunk, 
to prevent the English ships from coming in. The fleet, 
the main object of the attack, was sheltered in the inner 
basins of the dock-yard. But the Danish preparations 
were only intended to resist assault, and were powerless 
against bombardment. 

The Prince Regent, having taken all precautions which 
circumstances permitted, committed the charge of the city 
and its defences to General Peyman, a brave and worthy 
soldier, with orders to resist to the last; and then hurried 
away into Holstein, to endeavor to find some means of 
bringing the Danish army to the rescue. At the same 
time General Castenskiod was ordered to assemble the 
military of Zealand. But these untrained levies could be 
of very little use against the veteran English troops, and 
the devoted city was left to the defence of General 
Peyman's small force. 

When Jackson returned to the British fleet the word 
was given, and a shocking scene of slaughter and destruc- 
tion ensued. The troops debarked to the north of 
Copenhagen. Most of them were Hessians and other 
Germans in English employ. It was known that the city 
could not be carried by assault without fearful loss to the 
attacking party, so the Enghsh troops approached, threw 
up some works, but did not attempt a regular siege. A 
bombardment was the means resorted to ; and by this 
dreadful means the city was to be burned and ruined, 
until the Danes submitted. It was now that Colonel 
Congreve made the first trial. In actual warfare, of the 
destructive rockets which bear his name. 

On the 1st of September the English preparations were 



o50 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

completed. Cathcart had erected a battery of sixty-eight 
pieces, forty-eight of which were mortars. He then 
summoned the city, demanding the port, arsenal and 
fleet, on pain of burning the place. In his letter he 
prayed General Peyman to yield, and not force him to 
extremity against a place filled with non-combatants, 
women and children. Peyman, true to the trust confided 
in him by the Crown Prince, and sustained by the indig- 
nant citizens, answered the summons in the negative. 

On the 2d of September, in the evening, the bombard- 
ment commenced, and a hail of shell, rockets, and other 
missiles fell upon the city. The best answer possible was 
made, but the English were so sheltered by their 
defences that their loss was nothing-. It continued all 
night and part of the next day ; and was then suspended 
to see if Peyman yet thought of surrender. 

Hundreds of Danes had been killed, and many 
destructive fires had occurred. Many of the finest build- 
ings were destroyed, and the whole of the male popula- 
tion who were not in the trenches were exhausted by the 
labor which they had undergone in trying to extinguish 
the flames. Peyman resolved to hold out still, and the 
bombardment was renewed on the evening of the 3d, 
assisted by the bomb-vessels of the English fleet. With 
a short interval it was continued until the morning of the 
5th; a population of 100,000 being all this time exposed 
to a rain of missiles. The destruction was, of course, very 
great. About two thousands persons were killed, many 
of them old people and children, while some of the finest 
buildings and several hundred dwellings were destroyed. 
At last, having made an heroic defence, General Peyman, 
to save the rest of the city, determined to capitulate. 
By the articles agreed upon the English were to remain 
in possession six weeks, the time estimated as necessary 



COPENHAGEN. 351 

to fit out the vessels which were to be taken away. The 
Danes saw this spohation with helpless rage and anguish, 
and when they turned away, they had the sight of their 
half ruined city before their eyes. 

The English fitted out, and carried off, sixteen ships of 
the line, about twenty frigates and brigs, and all the stores, 
rigging, timber, and ship-building tools from the dock- 
yard. The ships on the stocks, and the condemned hulks 
were burned. It took 20,000 tons of transport shipping 
to carry off the stores which were taken. 

The casualties of both the British army and navy, in this 
expedition, amounted to only fift)''-six killed, one hundred 
and seventy-five wounded, and twenty-five missing. 



352 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



TRAFALGAR. OCTOBER 21ST, A.D. 1805. 




HE year 1805 was a momentous period in 
the history of Europe. Napoleon had long 
meditated the invasion of England, saying 
" Let us be masters of the Channel for six 
hours, and we are masters of the world." 
A skillfully combined plan, by which the 
British fleet would have been divided, while 
the whole French navy was concentrated 
in the Channel, was delayed by the death of the Admiral 
designated to execute it. But an alliance with Spain 
placed the Spanish fleet at Bonaparte's disposal, in 1805, 
and he formed a fresh scheme for its union with that of 
France, the crushing of the fleet under Cornwallis, which 
blocked the Channel ports, before Admiral Nelson could 
come to its support, and a crossing of the vast armament 
so protected to the British shores. The plan was to draw 
Nelson away in pursuit of the French fleet, which was 
then suddenly to return and crush the English Channel 
squadron. 

Nelson, now in command of the Mediterranean and 
Cadiz fleet, had been searching diligently for the French 
Toulon fleet, and was much concerned that he could not 
find it. 

In February, 1805 he had been down as far as Egypt, but 
found nothing there, and, half distracted with anxiety, 
steered for Malta. Soon after arriving there he received 



TRAFALGAR. 353 

from Naples intelligence of what had, in reality, become 
of the French fleet. 

At that time he wrote to the Admiralty, to say " I have 
consulted no man, therefore the whole blame of ignorance 
in forming my judgment must rest with me. I would 
allow no man to take from me an atom of my glory had I 
fallen in with the French fleet, nor do I desire any man 
to partake of any of the responsibility. All is mine, right 
or wrong. * * * * «i consider the character of 
Bonaparte, and that the orders given by him on the banks 
of the Seine would not take into consideration wind or 
weather." 

In a letter to Captain Ball, at Malta, of April 19, 1805, 
when the fleet, going to the westward, was buffeting with 
head winds, he says, " My good fortune, my dear Ball, 
seems flown away. I cannot get a fair wind, or even a 
side wind — dead foul ! dead foul ! but my mind is fully 
made up what to do when I leave the Straits, supposing 
there is no certain information of the enemy's destination. 
I believe this ill luck will go near to kill me ; but, as these 
are times for exertion, I must not be cast down, whatever 
I feel." 

At this very time Nelson had before him a letter 
from the Physician of the fleet, enforcing his return to 
England before the hot months, such was his bad state of 
health. 

"Therefore," he writes, in spite of this, "notwithstand- 
ing, I shall pursue the enemy to the West or East Indies, 
if I know that to have been their destination ; yet, if the 
Mediterranean fleet joins the Channel, I shall request, 
with that order (from the Physician), permission to go 
on shore." 

On April 8th, 1805, the French fleet passed the Straits 
of Gibraltar, and the same afternoon entered Cadiz, 



S54 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

drivino- off the small British squadron then there, under 
Sir John Orde. 

Here a number of Spanish men-of-war joined the 
French Admiral ; and on the 9th the combined fleet — 
five Spanish and twelve French ships-of-the-line, seven 
frigates, a corvette and three brigs, stood to the west- 
ward, to rendezvous in the West Indies, at Martinique, 
at which island they arrived on May 12th. 

On the 4th of May, Nelson was watering and provision 
ing his fleet at Mazarl Bay, on the Barbary coast, and, 
the wind coming east, was enabled to proceed to the 
westward ; but he did not get through the Straits of 
Gibraltar till the night of the 7th, when his enemy was 
almost at Martinique. He had supposed that the Allied 
fleet was bound to the Irish coast; but received certain 
information, at this time, from a Scotch officer, named 
Campbell, in the Portuguese service, that they had gone 
to the West Indies. Campbell was afterwards complained 
against by the French Ambassador, for giving this infor- 
mation, and his career ruined. 

Nelson determined to follow the enemy, without orders, 
and at the risk of professional censure, for to do so he 
must abandon his station without leave. He went into 
Lagos Bay, and having received five months' provisions, 
sailed, on May nth, and, at Cape St. Vincent, detached 
a line-of-battle ship to escort some transports and 5000 
troops through the Straits. With ten sail-of-the-line 
and three friofates. Nelson then crowded sail to the west- 
ward, in pursuit of his enemy's fleet, which he knew 
consisted of eighteen sail-of-the-line, at the least, besides 
nine frigates. 

Nelson was now Vice- Admiral of the White, in the 100- 
gun ship Victory, Captain Hardy. He had one 80, the 
Canopus, Rear-Admiral Louis, and Captain Austen, and 



TRAFALGAR. , 355 

eight 74's, with three frigates. Lord Nelson has been 
accused of rashness in seeking to engage a force nearly 
double his own, but he expected to be joined by six sail- 
of-the-line at Barbadoes. 

On the passage to the West Indies, Nelson prepared 
an elaborate plan of battle, the most striking feature in 
which was, "The business of an English Commander-in- 
chief being first to bring an enemy's fleet to battle, on 
the most advantageous terms to himself (I mean, that of 
laying his ships close on board those of the enemy as 
expeditiously as possible, and, secondly, to continue them 
there until the business Is decided), etc., etc. 

On May 15th Nelson's fleet reached Madeira, and a 
friofate was sent on to Barbadoes, to have Admiral Coch- 
rane's vessels ready for a junction. He, himself, with the 
main fleet, did not arrive at Barbadoes until June 4th. All 
this time he had many qualms about his course in leaving 
his station, and, upon his arrival, was met by many 
conflicting reports. 

But he soon learned that the French had cfone north 
again. (At this time he was thought by Napoleon and 
the French authorities to be still In European waters.) 
Nelson's swift movements had quite outstripped the 
Emperor's calculations. 

Nelson left the West Indies again, with eleven sail-of- 
the line, and cautiously pursued the large fleet in advance 
of him, in hopes that better tactics would enable him to 
reach the shores of Europe before them ; and, at any 
rate, by his presence there he had stopped the career of 
victory of the French, In the West Indies. He said to his 
Captains, " My object Is partly gained, hs * ♦ * 
We won't part without a battle. I think they will be 
glad to let me alone. If I will let them alone; which I will 



356 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

do, either till we approach the shores of Europe, or they 
give me an advantage too tempting to be resisted." 

The French Admiral Villeneuve's orders as to his 
proceedings in the West Indies are interesting, as well as 
the events which followed his arrival there, but he was 
ordered to return soon, and to carry out a project, as the 
ultimate object of the assembling of his allied fleet, which 
was, in the eyes of Napoleon, infinitely more important than 
die capture and pillage of the English West India Islands. 
In returning to Europe Villeneuve was only obeying the 
Emperor's orders, although the latter blamed Villeneuve 
for not carrying out his orders in full, attributing his 
hasty leaving the islands, to fright. 

Afterwards, at St. Helena, he acknowledged that Ville- 
neuve was a brave man. 

On the way to Europe the French fleet made one or 
two important captures and re-captures, and came off 
Cape Finisterre about the latter part of July. 

And now let us follow Lord Nelson for a time. 

He quitted Antigua on June 13th, having received 
information that the enemy's fleet was seen steering 
north, but he had no very definite Information, and had 
to rely on his own Intuition. On July 1 7th he sighted 
Cape St. Vincent, having sailed about 3500 miles on this 
one passage. 

There seems to be no doubt that Napoleon intended 
to attack Ireland, or at least effect a landing there, and 
the best military and naval minds considered that Ville- 
neuve's voyage to the West Indies was principally 
intended to draw off the British naval force from the 
Channel, to admit of an attack upon Ireland, a preliminary 
step in Napoleon's plan. 

On July 19th, 1805, the English fleet anchored in 
Gibraltar, and on the 20th Lord Nelson says, in his 



TRAFALGAR. 357 

diary, " I went on shore for the first time since June 1 6th, 
1803, and, from having my foot out of the Victory, two 
years, wanting ten days." 

He remained only three days on shore at Gibraltar, 
and then received information that the allied fleet had 
been seen, five weeks before, steering N. N. west, in 
latitude 33**, longitude 58° west. This was stale news, 
but the earliest, of a positive nature, which he had 
received. He, therefore, passed the Straits of Gibraltar, 
and at first went to the westward, but afterwards he went 
off Cape St. Vincent, to be ready to steer in any direction 
that circumstances might direct. On the third day of 
August the English fleet was in 39° north, and 1 6° west 
longitude. 

Here Lord Nelson got some Information from an 
American merchant ship, which had taken the log of a 
vessel which had been set on fire and abandoned, but 
not destroyed, and, from a scrap of paper containing a 
reckoning, he derived the fact that the vessel had been 
taken by the French fleet. 

Nelson then proceeded north, but finding no news, 
either from Admiral Cornwallis, off Ushant, or the 
Channel fleet, proceeded, with the Victory, and another 
ship, to Portsmouth, leaving' the rest of his fleet as a re- 
inforcement to the Channel fleet. 

In the meantime the combined fleet had had a most 
important action, on July 2 2d, with Sir Robert Calder's 
squadron, between Ferrol and Finisterre, not necessary to 
be here gone Into. It was a sort of drawn battle, with 
numbers In favor of the French. Sir Robert Calder was 
much blamed for the result. 

Napoleon was terribly vexed that Vllleneuve had not 
rendered a better account of Sir Robert Calder's fleet, to 
which he was superior. 
23 A 



358 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Bonaparte said that " Villeneuve was one of those mer 
who require more spur than bridle," and asked if it 
" would not be possible to find, in the navy, an enterpris- 
ing man, with cool views, as one ought to see, either in 
battle, or in the manceuvres of a lleet." 

Villeneuve was ordered to go to Brest ; but, in spite 
of that, went to Cadiz, the details of the reasons and 
i movements beino; too longr to be recounted here. The 
i^mperor was furious, and charged him with dereliction 
in duty, disobedience of orders, refusing to fight the 
enemy, etc. 

Part of Bonaparte's vexation with Villeneuve no doubt 
arose from the loud complaints of the Spaniards, at 
having lost two ships in Calder's action ; and this was 
aggravated by the apparent unwillingness of the French 
Admiral, even with a powerful fleet under his command, 
to sail out, in the face of eleven English sail-of-the-line, 
cruising off Cadiz ; and so enable the Spanish squadron 
at Carthagena to form a junction with Admiral Gravlna, 
who commanded the Spanish portion of the allied fleet. 

The fact is, to quote a French authority, "Villeneuve, 
like others, was impressed by the inferiority of the French 
marine, in comparison with the English. The French 
seamen, brave enough, but inexperienced at sea, looked 
with a sort of terror upon the necessity of meeting the 
redoubtable victor of Aboukir, knowing well his genius 
and audacity, commanding, as he did, a well prepared fleet 
and thoroughly drilled and sea-hardened crews. Vllle- 
neuve's personal courage Is above suspicion, but he lacked 
energy, decision, and power of organization. Exasperated 
by the reply of the Emperor, who accused him of cowardice. 
In consequence of his perpetual hesitations, Villeneuve 
replied to the Minister of Marine, in these bitter words, 
"If all the French Navy lacks Is audacity, as Is pretended. 



TRAFALGAR. r.fjcj 

the Emperor will soon be satisfied ; and he may count 
upon brilHant successes." 

On September 17th, 1805, Napoleon directed his 
Minister of Marine to order Villeneuve to sea, on a new 
expedition. He was to proceed off Naples, and disem- 
bark, at some point on the coast, a number of troops, in 
order that they might join the army of General St. Cyr. 
He was then to proceed to Naples, and capture the 
English ship Excellent, and a Russian ship-of-the-line, 
lying there ; to do all possible injury to English trade ; 
to intercept an expedition bound to Malta ; and then to 
come to Toulon, where everything was to be ready to 
re-victual and repair his ships. 

Napoleon seemed to have feared the failure of Ville^ 
neuve to carry out these orders ; and had actually ordered 
Vice-Admiral Rosily to supercede him. But the fact 
remains that Villeneuve's written orders had always been 
to avoid an engagement, and at last to bring his fieet, 
fresh and entire, into the British Channel. In his move- 
ments he was, moreover, retarded by the supineness of 
the Spaniards, who, when their long voyage to the West 
Indies was over, felt inclined to remain snugly in port. 

In the meantime, Vice-Admiral Collingwood, off Cadiz, 
was joined by four sail-of-the-line, under Rear-Admiral 
Sir Richard Bickerton ; and soon after by seventeen 
more, under Sir Robert Calder, in the Prince of Wales. 
Some of these ships were occasionally detached to 
Gibraltar, for water and provisions ; and with the rest 
Collingwood continued to cruise before Cadiz. On the 
28th of September, Lord Nelson arrived, to take com- 
mand of the English fleet; having left Portsmouth in the 
Victory, on the fifteenth. The Ajax and Thunderer, line- 
of-batde ships, had come with him. 

The Euryalus frigate had preceded him, to inform 



3r;0 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Colllngwood that, on his assuming command again, no 
salute should be fired, or flags displayed, in order that 
the Allies should not be apprised of the arrival of a 
reinforcement. 

The force under Lord Nelson now consisted of twenty- 
seven sail-of-the-line, twenty-two of which cruised about 
fifteen miles off Cadiz; and the remaining five, under 
Rear- Admiral Louis, in the Canopus, were stationed close 
off the harbor, watching the motions of the combined fleet. 
Lord Nelson considered that if he kept the main body 
oi his fleet out of sight of land, the French Admiral, being 
Ignorant of the exact British force, might perhaps put to 
sea, so that he kept the bulk of his fleet at a long distance 
west of Cadiz. 

The force close in with the city was then relieved by 
two frigates, the only ships left there. Beyond these, 
further out, and at a convenient distance for signalling, 
were three or four ships-of-the-line, the westernmost of 
which could communicate directly with the easternmost 
ship of the main body. 

The new station of the English fleet had a great 
advantage in case of westerly gales, usual at that season, 
as they would! not be forced into the Mediterranean ; In 
which event the combined fleet, on the first change of 
wind, might easily put to sea, unmolested. 

On October ist, the Euryalus frigate reconnoitred the 
port of Cadiz, and plainly discovered, at anchor in the 
outer harbor, and apparently ready for sea, eighteen 
French, and sixteen Spanish ships-of-the-llne, frigates and 
two brigs. 

The next day Lord Nelson sent Rear-Admiral Louis 
with five sail-of-the-line, to Gibraltar, for provisions and 
water; and on the same day, a Swedish ship, from Cadiz, 
bound to Alicante, informed the Euryalus that the com- 



TRAFALGAR. 361 

bined fleet had reembarked the troops a day or two 
before, and intended to put to sea the first easterly wind, 

Rear-Admiral Louis got this intelHgence on the 3d of 
October, and at once returned to the main fleet with his 
squadron ; but Lord Nelson, conceiving the news to be 
a stratagem to draw him nearer to Cadiz, so as to obtain 
a knowledge of his force, ordered Louis to proceed in the 
execution of his orders. 

On the 4th the weather was very calm, and some 
Spanish gunboats pulled out from Cadiz and attacked 
the two English frigates which were on duty close in ; 
but they soon retired again. By the 8th of October two 
more line-of-batde-ships had joined the English fieet, and 
the same day the Euryalus again counted thirty-four sail- 
of-the-line in Cadiz harbor. 

The possibility that the Cadiz, Carthagena and Roche- 
fort ships might effect a juncdon, and thereby present a 
force of forty-six sail-of-the-Iine, induced Lord Nelson to 
draw up and transmit to his second in command a plan 
of attack in which he supposed that, by the junction of a 
squadron under Sir Richard Strachan, and other ships, 
from Gibraltar and elsewhere, he might be able to 
assemble a force of forty sail-of-the-line. 

His plan was regarded by naval men as a master-piece 
of naval strategy, and agreed in principle with that pur- 
sued in the great batde then impending. Condensed, 
it was as follows : Taking it for granted that it was next 
to impossible to form a fleet of forty sail-of-the-line in 
line of batde, with varying winds, thick weather, and 
other difficuldes which might arise, without so much 
delay that the opportunity would probably be lost of 
bringi;ig the enemy to batde in such a manner as to 
render it decisive, Lord Nelson resolved to keep the fleet 
in such a position that, with the exception of the first and 



362 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND VIODERN. 

second In command, the order of sailing would be the 
order of battle. The fleet was to be placed in two lines, 
of sixteen ships each, with an advanced squadron of 
eight of the fastest sailing, two-decked ships, which latter 
would always make, if wanted, a line of twenty-four sail, 
on any line the Commander-in-chief might direct. 

The second in command would, after this latter inten- 
tion was made known to him, have the entire direction of 
his line, and was to make the attack, and to follow up the 
blow, until the enemy's ships were captured or destroyed. 

Should the enemy's fleet — supposed to consist of forty- 
six sail-of-the-line, be seen to windward, in line of battle, 
and the two British lines and the advanced squadron be 
able to fetch it, the ships of the former would probably be 
so extended that their van could not succor their rear. 

The English second in command would then probably 
be signalled to lead through, at about the twelfth ship 
from the enemy's rear, or wherever he could fetch, if not 
able to advance so far. 

The Commander-in-chief's line would lead through at 
the centre, and the advanced squadron cut through at 
about three or four ships ahead of the centre, so as to 
ensure getting at the enemy's'Commander-in-chief, whom 
every effort should be used to capture. 

The whole impression of the British fleet was to be 
made to overpower from two to three ships ahead of 
the enemy's Commander-in-chief (supposed to be in the 
centre) to the rear of his fleet. 

Admitting twenty sail of the enemy's line to be 
untouched, it would be some time before they could per- 
form a manoeuvre, so as to bring their force compact, to 
attack any part of the British fleet engaged, or to succor 
their companions; and this they could not do without 
palxlng with the ships eno^aged. 



TRAFALGAR. 363 

If It happened that the two fleets were of less force than 
here contemplated, a proportionate number only of the 
enemy's fleet were to be cut off, and the British were tc 
be one-fourth superior to the enemy so cut off 

Lord Nelson, making due allowance for what chance 
might effect, looked with confidence to a victory, before 
the van of the enemy could succor his rear ; and then he 
expected that the British ships would most of them be 
ready to receive the enemy's other twenty sail, or tc 
pursue them, should they endeavor to make off. 

If the van of the enemy tacked, the captured ships 
were to run to leeward of the British fleet ; if the enemy 
wore, the British were to place themselves between the 
enemy and the captured, as well as their own disabled 
ships ; and should the enemy close, his Lordship made 
no doubt of the result. 

The second In command was to direct the movements 
of his line and to keep the ships as compact as circum- 
stances permitted. Captains were to look to their own 
line as their rallying point; but. In case signals couW 
neither be seen nor perfecdy understood, no captain cotdd 
do wrong luho placed Ids ship close alongside that of an 
enemy. 

So far with regard to the attack from to leeward. Next 
followed the plan of attack from to windward. 

Supposing the enemy formed In line-of-batde to receive 
the British fleet, the three divisions of the latter were to 
be brought nearly within gun-shot of the enemy's centre, 
when the signal would most likely be made for the lee 
line to bear up together, under all sail, in order to reach 
the enemy's line as quickly as possible, and then to cut 
through ; beginning at the twelfth ship from the enemy'* 
rear. 

Some ships might not get through at their exact place^ 



364 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

but they would always be at hand, to assist their friends; 
and if any British ships were thrown round the rear of 
the enemy, they would, it was considered, effectually 
complete the business of twelve of the enemy's ships. 

Should the enemy wear together, or bear up, and sail 
large, still the twelve ships of the enemy's rear were to 
be the object of attack of the British lee line, unless 
otherwise directed by the Commander-in-chief, an inter- 
ference not contemplated in the plan, as the entire 
management of the lee line, after the Commander-in-chief 
had signalized his intentions, was to be left to the judg- 
ment of the Admiral commanding that line. 

The remainder of the English fleet were to be left to 
the management of the Commander-in-chief; who, as he 
rather modestly expressed himself, would endeavor to 
take care that the movements of the second in command 
were as little as possible interrupted. 

This plan and instructions have been given rather at 
length, because they have always been looked upon as 
models, and have been copied into foreign historical 
works, and adopted upon several other occasions. 

Cadiz became much straightened for provisions, in 
consequence of having so large a fleet to victual. To 
remedy this evil, especially in regard to his own fleet. 
Napoleon had ordered shipments to be made to Nantes, 
Bordeaux, and other ports in the Bay of Biscay. The 
carriers were vessels under the Danish flag, that landed 
their cargoes at small ports in the south of Spain, whence 
they were easily conveyed to Cadiz. As some check to 
this, a vigorous blockade had been adopted by Colling- 
wood, and maintained by his successor, ^hc considered 
it a more likely way of driving the combined fleets to sea 
than a bombardment of Congreve rockets, as had at one 
time been contemplated. The arrival of a number of 



TRAFALGAR. 



365 



frigates enabled Nelson to prosecute this blockade of the 
coasting trade more successfully. On the loth of 
October two line-of-batde ships, and on the 13th two 
more, joined Nelson ; and he had now twenty-nine sail- 
of-the-line off Cadiz, and five at Gibraltar. This was the 
highest number his fleet reached. 

On the loth the allied fleet had moved out to the 
entrance of the harbor, and evinced a disposition to put 
to sea at the first opportunity. 

Four days after, Lord Nelson was obliged, owing to 
orders from England, to send there Sir Robert Calder, in 
the Prince of Wales; and on the 17th was obliged to 
send the Donegal to Gibraltar, for water. This done, he 
had twenty-seven sail-of-the-line (not all in very good 
order, or well manned), four frigates, a schooner, and a 
cutter. There were in his fleet three loo-gun ships; the 
Victory, his own flag-ship; the Royal Sovereign, Vice- 
Admiral Collingwood ; and the Britannia, Rear-Admiral 
the Earl of Northesk. Then came four 98-gun ships ; one 
So, sixteen 74s, and three 64s, which formed the line-of- 
battle. 

On the very day on which Lord Nelson took command 
of the fleet a courier had arrived at Cadiz, with the order 
of the French Emperor for Villeneuve to put to sea. 
These orders had been issued about the middle of 
September, and required that the French ships should 
pass the Straits of Gibraltar, land the troops on the 
Neapolitan coast, sweep the Mediterranean of all British 
commerce and cruisers, and then enter Toulon, to re-fit 
and re-victual. 

Although Villeneuve's instrucdons contained no men- 
tion of the Spanish fleet, it is natural to suppose that they 
would be glad to avail themselves of the exit of a formid- 
able French fleet to effect a junction with seven sail-of- 



366 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the-line of theirs, which were blockaded in the port of 
Carthagena. Every exertion was, therefore, made to fill 
the complements of the fleet, which had otherwise been 
ready for some time. Of the vessels which had been in 
Sir Robert Calder's action, one, the Argonauta, had been 
repaired and refitted, but the damage to the other, the 
Terrible, proved of so serious a nature that she was 
disarmed, and her crew divided among the short-manned 
ships. 

All these details may seem tedious, but are necessary 
to a correct understanding of this, the most Important 
naval battle of the century. 

To return a little. On the loth of October, the French 
troops having re-embarked, the combined fleet moved 
to the entrance of Cadiz harbor, to be ready for a start 
at a moment's warning. Hard westerly gales continued 
until the i 7th. At midnight of that date the wind shifted 
to the eastward, and on the i8th of October Admiral 
Villeneuve informed the Spanish Admiral Gravina of his 
intention to put to sea on the following day ; and had a 
strong line of gunboats drawn up across the mouth of the 
harbor. 

On October 19th the Allied fleets, by signal from the 
Commander-in-chief, began getting under way, at seven 
o'clock In the mornlnof. There was a fair breeze, but 
ligrht, and the British reconnoitringf frlo^ates at once saw 
and reported the movement. Owing to the light wind, 
only twelve ships got out, and these lay becalmed until 
afternoon, when a breeze sprang up from the west-north- 
west, and the twelve stood to the northward, accompanied 
closely by the two English frigates on guard. At day- 
light the next morning the rest of the combined fleet left 
Cadiz, making, with the twelve already outside, thirty- 
three sail-of-the-line, five frigates, and two brigs. They 



TRAFALGAR. 367 

had a light southeast wind, while the ships in the offing, 
as is frequently the case on this coast, had the wind south- 
southwest. 

The French had four 8o-gun ships, and fourteen 74s, 
with the frigates and brigs. The Spanish had one 130- 
gun ship; two of 112 guns; one 100; two 80s; eight 
74s, and one 64. 

Villeneuve's flag-ship was the Bucentaure, 80, and 
Gravlna's the Principe de Asturias, 1 1 2. 

Scarcely had the fleet cleared the harbor when a south- 
west wind and thick weather began to delay their 
progress. Meantime the two English frigates carefully 
watched their every manoeuvre. 

The first effect of the thick weather was that the 
English ship Agamemnon, with a merchant brig in tow, 
was unconsciously running into the midst of the enemy's 
ships, but was, after some difficulty, warned off by the 
frigates. Then one of the English frigates was in danger 
of capture by her stopping too long to examine an Ameri- 
can ship ; she was chased and fired upon. 

In the afternoon the weather cleared, and the wind 
shifted to north-northwest; whereupon Admiral Ville- 
neuve ordered his fleet to form in five columns, in 
accordance with a plan previously communicated to his 
Admirals and Captains. 

The Allied fleet then divided itself into two parts. The 
first part was of twenty-one sail, and was denominated 
the line-of-batde, and this was again subdivided into three 
squadrons, of seven ships each ; of which the centre was 
commanded by Villeneuve himself; the van by Vice- 
Admiral Alava ; and the rear by Rear-Admiral Duma- 
noir. 

The second part of the Allied fleet, the reserve, was 
divided into two squadrons, of six ships each, the firs'. 



368 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

under Admiral Gravina, and the second under Rear 
Admiral Magon. 

Villeneuve's instructions to these officers were as 
follows : in case of being to windward, the line to bear 
down together, and each ship to engage her opponent in 
the English line ; to engage closely, and to board, if 
possible. 

If, on the contrary, the English fleet was to windward, 
the allied fleet was to await attack in close order of 
battle. 

The French Admiral said, " the enemy will not confine 
himself to forming a line-of-battle parallel to ours, and 
engage us with his cannon, when success often attends 
the most skillful, and always the most fortunate ; he will 
endeavor to turn our rear, to pass through our line, and 
will endeavor to surround such of our ships as he 
succeeds in cutting off, and reduce them with numbers 
of his own," 

Villeneuve adds " there is nothing to alarm us in the 
sight of the English fleet ; their 74-gun ships have not 
five hundred men on board ; their seamen are harassed 
by a two years' cruise; they are not more brave than we; 
and have infinitely less motives to fight well, and have 
less love of country. They are skillful at manoeuvring. 
In a month we shall be as much so as they are. In fine, 
everything unites to inspire us with hopes of the most 
glorious success, and of a new era for the Imperial 
marine." 

The most remarkable feature of the French Admiral's 
plan was, that it persisted in ordering the movements of 
his fleet to be conducted in close line-of-battle, even while 
he admits that his enemy will adopt a different mode of 
attack, that of cutting off" the rear of the line, and makincr 
it an easy conquest. Such, however, was the ancient 



TRAFALGAR. S60 

rule of sea-tactics, and France had not yet had a Rodney 
to break through them. 

Shortly after the combined fleet had formed in five 
columns, one of their advanced frigates made the signal 
for eighteen sail of British ships in sight. On this the 
fleet, still on the port tack, cleared for action, and at 
about five p. m. tacked, and stood for the mouth of the 
Straits of Gibraltar. They had continued so long on the 
other tack that Lord Nelson thought it was Villeneuve's 
intention to proceed to the westward. 

About this time the four British frigates came down to 
reconnoitre, and were chased by some of the Allied fleet, 
which latter, however, rejoined the main body at night- 
fall. 

Just before dark the French ship Aigle made signal 
for eighteen British ships in line-of-battle, to the south- 
ward ; and shortly after the combined fleet wore and 
stood to the northwest. 

On the 2 1 St, a litde before daylight, the French 
Admiral, abandoning his plan of forming line-of-battle of 
twenty-one ships (as the enemy were now to windward, 
and of nearly equal force to himself), ordered the three 
columns, composed of the twenty-one ships, without 
regard to priority of rank among them, to form in close 
line-of-battle, on the starboard tack, upon the leeward- 
most division of twelve ships, and then to steer south- 
east. The manoeuvre executed, daylight found the two 
fleets fairly in sight of each other, for the first time. The 
centre of the Franco-Spanish fleet bearing about east by 
south of the centre of the British, and distant about ten 
miles. 

The wind was then light, from west-northwest, and a 
heavy swell setting in from the westward. 

Let us now look at the movements of the British fleet 



370 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODE-RN. 

during the period just before the momentous battle now 
impending. 

About half-past nine a. m., on the 19th, while the 
British fleet was lying to, fifty miles west-southwest from 
Cadiz, the line-of-batde ships which formed the cordon 
of communication between the fleet and the reconnoitring 
frigates, inshore, repeated the signal that the enemy was 
coming out of port. 

Lord Nelson immediately made sail to the southeast, 
with light breezes, mosdy from south-southwest. At 
three p. m. the signal was repeated, that the enemy was 
at sea. 

That afternoon Lord Nelson directed that the fleet 
should observe the motions of his flag-ship, the Victory, 
during the night, and that the best sailing ships should 
stand ahead, and steer for the mouth of the Straits. 

On the 20th of October, at daylight, the English found 
themselves near the entrance of the Straits, but saw 
nothing of their enemy. 

Thereupon the fleet wore, and made sail to the north- 
west, with a fresh breeze at south-southwest. 

At seven a. u., one of the fritrates signalled the Allied 
fleet, bearing north; and by noon the Victory and the 
English fleet were within twenty-five miles of Cadiz, 
standing to the west-northwest, on the port tack. 

Early in the afternoon they were taken aback, by a 
breeze from the west-northwest, and at 4 p. m. wore, and 
again came to, on the port tack, steering north. 

It was now telegraphed that the Allied fleet seemed 
determined to go to the westward, and Lord Nelson 
replied that he relied on the frigates keeping them in 
sight during the night The frigates then signalled 
" thirty-one sail of the enemy, bearing north-northeast." 

When night fell the British fleet wore, and stood to the 



"TRAFALGAR. 371 

southwest, and at 4 a. m. of the 2 1 st wore again, and 
steered north by east, under easy sail. 

To the general reader these details of manoeuvres, 
(which precede any great battle, whether on sea or land), 
may appear tedious, but it is absolutely necessary to a 
description of this great event, and could not be omitted 
by any one who tried to give an account of the battle. 

At six in the morning the flag-ship Victory had a view 
of the combined fleet, bearing about east by south, 
distant, as has been said in the account of the manoeuvres 
of the Franco-Spanish fleet, about ten or twelve miles. 

At this time Nelson was about twenty miles from Cape 
Trafalgar, which bore east by south. 

Soon after this the English fleet, by signal, formed in 
two columns, in the order of sailing, and bore up to the 
eastward, under all sail. 

This was according to Nelson's previous orders ; to 
avoid delay and inconvenience of forming line-of-battle 
in the usual manner. 

THE BATTLE. 

The near approach of the British fleet rendering an 
action unavoidable, the French Admiral, at 8.30 in the 
morning, made signal for his ships to wear together, and 
form line, in close order, on the port tack. 

This brought the port of Cadiz on his lee bow. 

It was fully ten in the morning before this manoeuvre, 
involving so many great ships, and such a long line, was 
completed; and even then, from the light and flawy wind, 
the line was not very regularly formed. 

Acounts differ as to how the ships were disposed in the- 
Allied line. 

Lord Collingwood said that the French ships had an 
unusual arrangement. They formed a crescent, convex- 



372 NAVAI, BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ing to leeward, "so that, in leading down their centre, I 
had both their van and rear abaft the beam. Before the 
fire opened, every alternate ship was about a cable's 
length to windward of her second ^head and astern, 
forming a kind of double line, and appeared, when on 
their beam, to leave very little interval between them, and 
this without crowding their ships." 

The French and English accounts and plans of the 
battle are all rather incompatible with the facts of the 
action, as developed ; and were all, most probably, 
drawn from memory and influenced by impressions. 

Lord Collingwood's is, probably, the only simple and 
straightforward one. 

Owing to the lightness of the wind, the English fleet, after 
bearing up, made very slow progress toward their enemy. 
These great two and three-deckers were ponderous 
affairs, and required a strong breeze to move them. 

At the joint suggestion of Captains Hardy and Black- 
wood, Nelson reluctantly consented that the Temeraire 
and Leviathan should precede the Victory in going into 
action; and he himself gave orders to that effect to the 
first-named ship, which was then just abreast of the 
Victory, but, it was thought, at too great a distance to 
understand perfectly the purport of Lord Nelson's hail. 

Captain Hardy, Nelson's flag-Captain, therefore, went, 
in his boat, on board the Temeraire, and gave Captain 
Harvey the Commander-in-chief's orders. But then the 
utmost endeavor of the Temeraire to pass ahead of the 
Victory was frustrated by the latter's carrying all the sail 
she could set. 

No one ventured to suggest shortening sail to Nelson, 
when going into battle ; and he was just then finding 
fault with the officer of the Victory's forecastle, for not 
setting the lee studding-sail in a smarter manner. 



TRAFALGAR. 373 

Subsequently, when it became necessary to keep in 
line, for mutual support, the Victory signalled the Teme- 
raire to resume her station astern of the flag-ship. Thus 
the Victory led the Temeraire into the enemy's line, 
after all. 

The manner in which the combined fleet now lay, 
with a home port only twenty-five miles off, on their lee 
[bow, induced Nelson, about eleven in the morning, to 
telegraph, 'T intend to pass through the end of the enemy's 
line, to prevent them from getting into Cadiz." 

The reversed order of that line had, with the wind 
prevailing, produced an effect to be guarded against. It 
had brought tlie shoals of San Pedro and Trafalrar under 
the lee of both fleets. Accordingly, at half-past eleven, 
the Victory made signal to the British fleet to prepare to 
anchor at the close of the day. 

At that time the cables were of hemp, and required a 
long time to range, and prepare for letting go. They 
were, in such ships, of immense size. We shall see how 
Nelson's sailor instinct taught him what was to save his 
fleet after the battle, although he was not to see it. 

This sienal havinof been made, no other seemed 
necessary, and all they had to do was to wait for the 
battle to open. 

But, a little before noon, Nelson telegraphed again. 
This time it was his celebrated message, "England 
expects that every man will do his duty." He had dicta- 
ted "confides," but the word not being in the signal book, 
the signal lieutenant suggested "expects," and Nelson 
adopted it. 

This signal was greeted with three cheers from all the 
ships, as they were slowly bearing down upon their 
enemy, and aroused the utmost enthusiasm. 

They by degrees got so close that, at noon, the French 

24A 



374 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ship Fougueiix Opened fire upon the Royal Sovereign 
(Collingwood's flag-ship), then upon her port bow 
and well within shot. Immediately upon the first 
gun-shot, the three British Admirals hoisted their respect- 
ive flags, and the rest of the ships the white, or St, 
George's ensign, a measure adopted to prevent any con- 
fusion, in the heat of action, from a variety of national 
flagrs. 

Each British ship also carried a union-jack at her 
main-top-mast stay, and another at her fore-top-gallant 
stay. The combined fleet hoisted their ensigns then, and 
their Admirals their flags. 

Soon after the Fougueux and the ships next ahead and 
astern of her had opened fire the Royal Sovereign 
returned it, but Nelson made signal to engage more 
closely, and Collingwood ceased firing. 

Soon after midday Collingwood had reached a position 
close astern of the Santa Anna, 112. and fired into her, 
with double-shotted guns, and with such precision that, 
by the subsequent admission of Spanish officers, she 
killed or wounded nearly four hundred of her crew. 
With the staiiDoard 'broadside similarly shotted, the 
Royal Sovereign raked the Fougueux, but, owing to 
distance, with less effect. In a short time the British ship 
Belleisle followed throuorh the combined line, which, 
owing to some of the ships astern of the Fougueux press- 
ing forward to support the centre, while others kept their 
sails aback, or shivering, was fast losing the tolerably 
regular form it had had, 

It was about this time that Nelson said, "See that 
noble fellow, Collingwood, how he carries his ship into 
action!" while Collingwood was remarking to his flag- 
Captain, "what Nelson would give to be here!" 

The British lee column approached its enemy in such 



TRAFALGAR. 375 

a slanting direction that it enabled most of them to 
discharge their starboard guns at the enemy's rear, and 
an interchange of animated firing took place, the smoke 
from which, for lack of a strong breeze to carry it off, 
spread over the combatants, and increased the confusion 
into which the rear xyf the combined line had already 
been thrown, by the crashing charge upon its centre. 

Twenty minutes after the Fougueux had opened fire 
upon the Royal Sovereign, and shortly after the latter had 
passed under the stern of the Santa Anna, the Bucentauro 
(Villeneuve's flag-ship) fired a shot at the Victory, which 
latter had studdino^-sails set on both sides, and was eoino 
through the water very slowly. The shot fell short. 
Another fell alongside, after an interval, and then a 
third passed through the Victory's main-top gallant sail. 
Things were getting warm, but the Victory did not im- 
mediately reply ; and a minute or two of awful silence 
followed, the ships creeping- together, and then, almost as 
if by signal, the whole Allied van opened fire upon the 
Victory, conspicuous from bearing Nelson's flag. Such 
a fire has seldom been directed at a single ship. Almost 
immediately a round shot killed Nelson's Secretary, Mr. 
Scott, while he was conversing with Captain Hardy. 
Shortly after a double-headed shot killed eight marines 
on the poop of the Victory, on which the Admiral 
ordered Captain Adair, the Marine Officer, to disperse his 
men around the ship, so that they should not suffer from 
being drawn up together. Presently a shot came through 
a thickness of four hammocks, carried away a part of the 
launch, as she lay on the booms, struck the fore-brace 
bitts on the quarter-deck, and then passed between Lord 
Melson and Hardy. A splinter from the bitts tore the 
buckle from one of Nelson's shoes. Dr. Beatty, the Sur- 
geon of the Victory, says "they both instantly stopped, 



876 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and were observed by die officers on deck to survey each 
odier widi inquiring looks, each supposing die odier to 
be wounded. His Lordship smiled, and said 'This is too 
warm work. Hardy, to last long!' and he soon after 
declared to Captain Hardy that, in all his battles, he had 
never seen cooler courage displayed than that by the 
Victory's men, on this occasion." To be sure, they were 
fighting under Nelson's own eye, and well-drilled men 
can stand almost any fire when well commanded. 

The Allied ships directly ahead of the British weather 
column, seeing, by her movements, that the Victory was 
about to follow the example of the Royal Sovereign, 
closed up around her. The Bucentaure came up near 
the huge Santissima Trinidada, 130, but still left a small 
opening between herself and the latter. In hopes of 
passing through this interval in the line, Lord Nelson 
himself ordered the man at the wheel to steer east by 
south. 

The Victory, by the change thus made in her course, 
having brought her port guns to bear upon the combined 
van, commenced firing from that side. She had already, 
from the concentrated fire she had encountered, lost 
twenty officers and men killed, and thirty wounded. 
This loss would have been greater had not the enemy 
endeavored to disable her by aiming rather at her spars 
and rigging. In consequence of this every studding-sail 
boom, on both sides, had been shot away, and every sail 
riddled. 

This shows that if the centre and rear of the Allies 
had opened fire earlier upon the Royal Sovereign, as she 
went In, they would, probably, have entirely disabled her. 

The Victory, as she moved slowly along, In a slanting 
direction, kept her port broadside playing upon the 
Santissima Trinidada and the Bucentaure. and was ably 



TRAFALGAR. 377 



seconded by the Temeraire, Captain Harvey, which ship 
still kept close astern of her. In a few minutes the Vic- 
tory's mizzen-top-mast was shot away; and soon after 
her wheel was destroyed, and the ship had to be steered 
during the rest of the action, In the gun-room, the Flrst- 
Lieutenant and Master relieving each other at that duty 
All this happened in about a quarter of an hour after 
she had opened fire, and she now found herself dose 
abreast of the narrow opening between the Spanish four- 
decker and the French Commander-in-chief, the precise 
spot where Nelson wished to cut the combined line Just 
as the Victory ivas slowly passing astern of the great 
Spanish ship, with the intention of hauling up under her 
lee, the Bucentaure ranged ahead, and placed hers-lf 
upon the four-decker's starboard quarter. Captain Har- 
dy novv pointed out to Nelson the impossibility of passing 
through the line without running on board one of the 
enemy's ships. Lord Nelson replied, "I can't help it • it 
does not signify which we run on board of Go on bokrd 
which you please; take your choice." The Victory, with 
he m hard a-port, steered for the Redoutable, which had 
gallandy come to fill a gap caused by the falling- to 
leeward of the French Neptune. (There was a Neptune 
in each fleet.) RIghdng her helm-she had just steerage 
way— the Victory poured a raking fire Into the Bucen- 
taure and the Sandssima Trinldada, and received a 
raking fire from the French Neptune, which then set her 
Jib to keep clear. 

On coming slowly to the wind the Victory drifted on 
board the Redoutable, but not until she had given her 
a broadside, and received some shot in return. The 
Redoutable then shut her lower deck ports, apparendy 
to prevent the English from boarding through them, and 
did "ot again fire a gun from her port side. 



378 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The ships came together very gently, and were in the 
act of rebounding, when the Victory's starboard fore- 
yard-arm caught the leech of the Redoutable's fore-top- 
sail. This kept them together for a time, and, with the 
muzzles of their guns almost touching, the two ships fell 
off before the wind. 

Having accompanied Lord Nelson so far, let us now 
take a general view of the battle. 

Soon after the first four ships of the British lee divi- 
sion had cut the centre and rear of the combined line, 
the remainder, as they came up in succession, pierced the 
mass of the Allied ships (for they were no longer In line), 
and then found opponents as they could. 

Meantime the weather division had cut through a little 
ahead of the centre of the combined line. The action, 
which had begun at noon, was at its height at about half- 
past one. At three the fire had begun to slacken ; and 
at five had entirely ceased. 

Of the eleven van ships of the Allies, including the 
huge Sta. Trinidada, only one was captured in her proper 
place; the remaining ten were out of line. Of the 
latter, three were captured and seven escaped; tour by 
hauling to windward, and then by running tor Cadiz. 
Of their ten centre ships, five were taken in their line o. 
battle, and five escaped into Cadiz ; and of the twelve 
rear ships, nine, including one burnt, were taken, and 
three escaped into Cadiz. This made, as the result of 
the day's proceedings, nine French ships of the line 
captured or burnt, and nine Spanish ships of the line 
captured ; total eighteen. The French and Spanish ships 
which escaped were many of them much shattered. 

It is impossible to give details of the separate action 
of so many ships, or of the losses they sustained, without 
being tedious. But it may be interesting to give some 



TRAFALGAR. 379 

idea of the French view of the battle — previous to speak- 
ing of the death of Nelson. 

We now quote from a French source. After enum- 
erating the combined fleet, and Its mode of formation, 
the account goes on to say, that "the vessels" (of the 
Allies) were most of them rather antiquated, especially 
the Spanish vessels, and unfitted for the new tactics 
introduced by Nelson. Soon after going out the two 
fleets slofhted each other off Cape Trafalgfar — that low 
point formerly called by the ancients the promontory 
of Juno. 

"The English Admiral had but twenty-seven sail-of-the- 
line, but his guns were superior in calibre to those of the 
Allies. They had, moreover, much greater nautical 
experience, and a great leader, conditions of success 
which the Allies could not claim." "Vllleneuve formed a 
single line of battle. Nelson formed In two columns, to 
cut this line, and then expected to conquer the separate 
parts in detail." ****** 

"October 21st, at eleven a. m., the two fleets came 
together, and one of the most destructive naval battles 
ever fought ensued. * ^' '^ The English were full of 
confidence and enthusiasm. * * * Nelson himself set 
the example. Outsailing his division, he dashed the Vic- 
tory against the Allied line, in spite of the concentrated 
broadsides poured upon him. * * * He attempted to 
take the Bucentaure, the flag-ship of Vllleneuve, and for 
that purpose tried to get In between her and anothef 
French ship, the Redoutable, commanded by the brave 
Captain Lucas. Lucas divined his Intentions, and has- 
tened to bar the Victory's way. But Nelson was not the 
man to be deterred by odds, and immediately laid his ship 
alongside the Redoutable, and boarded her. Lashed 
alongside, the two ships fell out of line, fighting." It is 



380 NAVAL, BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

not very often that accounts from opposite sides agree so 
closely as the foregoing account. 

"The ship's company of the Redou table bravely 
accepted the unequal combat. From the tops, as well as 
from the batteries, they answered the fire of the English, 
and, In this singular fight, one rather of musketry than of 
great guns, the French had rather the advantage." "The 
decks of the Victory were burdened with the dead. In 
the midst of the noise and confusion, and smoke of 
combat. Nelson and Captain Hardy walked the poop. 
Not far from them a few men were exchanging a brisk 
musketry fire with those in the tops of the French ship. 
Suddenly the Admiral staggered and fell, with his face 
to the deck. A ball fired from the mizzen-top of the 
Redoutable had struck his left shoulder, passing through 
the epaulette, then through the chest, and lodging In the 
dorsal vertebrae." Admiral Jurlen de la Gravlere says, 
"They picked him up at once, the decks being covered 
with his blood. Hardy, who had not seen him fall, 
turned, and, paler than Nelson himself, cried, 'I hope, 
my Lord, that you are not dangerously wounded!' 
'They have done for me,' he answered; 'they have 
succeeded at last; the spine of my back Is broken.'" 

Thiers, In his history, gives a rather different account, 
only Interesting as showing the way In which this Import- 
ant event was reported by the French. "Nelson, dressed 
in a coat which he always wore on days of batde, and 
having at his side his flag-captain. Hardy, seemed to 
delight in exposing himself His Secretary had already 
been killed just beside him. Captain Hardy had had one 
of his shoe buckles shot away, and a bar shot had killed 
eight men at once on the poop. The great seaman, just 
object of both hatred and admiration to us, impassable 
upon his poop, was looking calmly on at the horrible 



TRAFALGAR. 381 

scene, when a bullet .'"rom one of the tops of the Redout- 
able struck him on the left shoulder, and passing on, 
lodged in his loins. Sinking to his knees he fell forward, 
endeavoring to sustain himself by his hands. In falling 
he said, 'Hardy, the Frenchmen have finished me.' 
'Not yet, I hope,' said Hardy. 'Yes! I am dying,' said 
Nelson. They carried him to the cockpit, but he had 
already almost lost consciousness, and it was evident he 
had but a short time to live. Recovering his conscious- 
ness at intervals, he asked how the batde went; and 
repeated the directions which afterwards proved his fore- 
sight: 'Anchor! anchor the fleet before evening.'" He 
soon died, but he had the consoladon of knowing, before 
he did so, that his triumph was certain. To condnue the 
French account: "This bloody episode naturally created 
disorder on board the Victory, and Captain Lucas, of the 
Redoutable, without knowing the cause, wished to profit 
by it to board the English ship. The boarders were 
already called away, when a broadside of grape from the 
Temeraire laid low two hundred of them, either killed or 
wounded. At the same time another English ship, the 
Neptune, fired into the Redoutable's poop, and reduced 
her to a deplorable condition. Two of her masts fell 
upon the deck, her guns were in great part dismounted, 
and one of her sides almost beaten in, by which the water 
entered in torrents. All her staff was wounded, ten out 
of eleven midshipmen mortally wounded, while 522 men 
out of 640 were either killed or wounded, and, beino- 
unable to resist longer, they were obliged to strike." 

To continue the French account: "The other French 
ships, in equal straits, were menaced with the same fate, 
although their crews, as well as those of the Spanish fleet, 
showed no lack of courage. The English guns, ably and 



G82 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

perfectly served, made havoc with their enemy, whose 
ships, as has been said, were deficient in condition. 

" The Bucentaure, attacked by several ships at once, 
all of whom looked upon her as their special prize, had 
fouled and caught her bowsprit in the gallery of the 
Spanish ship Santissima Trinidada, and was incapable of 
getting clear. In this position she soon had her decks 
swept, and lay at the mercy of the enemy, with great gaps 
in her starboard side, her poop demolished, her masts 
gone by the board, her officers and crew decimated. 
' My business on board the Bucentaure is finished,' cried 
the unfortunate Villeneuve; 'I will try to bring back good 
fortune on board of another vessel' But not a boat was 
able to swim, and it was impossible Ibr him to leave the 
Bucentaure." 

M. Thiers says that the French Admiral thus found 
himself upon a sinking ship, incapable of taking either 
the offensive or defensive, unable to transmit orders or to 
do anything to save the fleet which had been entrusted 
to him, and unable to answer even a shot to those he was 
still receiving. In this desperate condition, which could 
not be worse, he resigned himself to the sad necessity of 
striking his flag. This took place about four in the after- 
noon. 

"An English boat came and took him on board the 
Mars, where he was received with all the distinction due 
to his rank and his courage." "The seven vessels of the 
centre, which Villenueve commanded, were either cap- 
tured or disabled. Those at the head of the Allied line 
had taken litde part in the action, owing to light winds. 
Rear Admiral Dumanoir, who commanded them, feared 
to be compromised uselessly if he went to the assistance 
of either Villeneuve or of the rear division, and he 
decided not to allow his division to become involved in 



TRAFALGAR. 383 

the disaster which he deemed irremediable. So he drew 
off, and his conduct has been made the subject of more 
or les3 hostile criticism, according as people judged his 
motives." 

" The vessels of the rear division" (we are still follow- 
ing the French account), "commanded by Admiral Grav- 
ina and Rear- Admiral Magon, carried on the battle with 
devoted courage. The Algesiras (flag-ship of the French 
Rear-Admiral) made as terribly desperate a defence 
[alivays defence) as the Redou table. Magon had for 
opponent the Tonnant, a ship taken from the French, of 
80 guns. He was about to board her when the same 
misfortune happened which occurred to the Redoutable. 
Another English ship raked the Algesiras, sweeping off 
a large number of her crew by broadsides of grape. She 
endeavored to reply to this new enemy, when a third 
came and joined them. In this Homeric struggle the 
Algesiras for a time fought all three. The Captain of the 
Tonnant tried three times to board the Algesiras. Maofon 
himself, at the head of his crew, boarding-axe in hand, 
set an example to his men, and his decks were stained 
with blood in this hand-to-hand conflict. Conspicuous 
for his brilliant uniform, which he refused to lay aside, he 
was soon wounded by a musket ball, but remained on 
deck. A second ball hit him in the thigh, and feeling 
faint he allowed himself to be taken below to have the 
wound dressed, expecting to return. Unfortunately his 
ship's sides were so battered that grape could readily 
enter below, and Magon was hardly below when he was 
killed by a grape-shot through the chest. 

" The sailors of the Algesiras seemed rendered desper- 
ate by the news of his death, but all their courage did 
not avail. Out of 641 men on board of her, 150 were 
killed and 180 wounded. Her masts were gone, her 



384 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

battery dismounted, and when the Enghsh boarded they 
overran the ship, and her flag was struck. Admiral Gra- 
vina, on board the Principe d' Asturias, and surrounded by 
EngHsh vessels, fought with the fury of despair. Holding 
out w^ell against odds, he gave time to the Neptune and 
Pluto to come down to his assistance. Unfortunately, 
just as this aid arrived he was mortally wounded." 

"Another episode in this batde of giants marked its 
termination. The Achille caught fire, and her crew, 
instead of attending to that, would not leave her guns, 
and she blew up, with tremendous violence." 

"At five in the afternoon the French fleet was either 
destroyed or fugitive. Seventeen French and Spanish 
ships had been taken, and one blew up. The combined 
fleet lost six or seven thousand men in killed, wounded, 
drowned and prisoners. A more horrible sight has 
seldom been seen in a naval battle. 

"The English had suffered much. Many of them had 
lost masts ; some were endrely disabled. They lost 
about three thousand men, a great many officers, and 
Nelson. And this had the effect of moderating the 
enthusiasm in England over this great victory. During 
the following night a heavy gale arose, as Nelson had 
foreseen. The English, having great trouble to take 
care of themselves, were forced to abandon the prizes 
they had in tow, or in company. Many of the prizes 
were seized by the prisoners, and, after great effort, 
succeeded in getUng into Cadiz. The English retained 
but four of their prizes and Admiral Villeneuve, whose 
troubles were not yet ended. The French marine was 
almost destroy ftd, pky si raHy and morally; and they have 
hardly recovered from it at this day. 

" Napoleon heard of it when in Germany, in the midst 
€>{ triumphs, and 'he never forfjave Villeneuve.' The 



TkAFALGAR. 385 

Admiral was placed at liberty by the English, and came 
home in April, 1806, hoping to justify his conduct. He 
forwarded a letter to Paris, and soon followed it in 
person. But while still on the journey, he received a 
reply, the contents of which caused him to give himself 
six fatal stabs with a knife, in the region of the heart, 
causing almost immediate death." 

Having seen how fairly and truthfully, upon the whole, 
the French have described some of the incidents of this 
great battle, let us now return to some of the details and 
the result. 

It will be remembered that Nelson was ursine the 
Victory into action ; and that vessel being fast-sailing 
for a line-of-battle ship, would probably have been, like the 
Royal Sovereign, far ahead of the ships in her wake, but 
that the Temeraire, having on board very little provisions 
or water, was what the sailors call "flying light." This 
ship was called the "fighting Temeraire." She had been 
taken from the French, and was commanded in this 
action by the gallant Captain Eliab Harvey, a name 
worthy of a down-east Yankee. She is well known from 
the celebrated picture, by Turner, of "The fighting 
Temeraire towed to her last berth." 

The great difficulty on the part of the Temeraire was 
to keep astern of her leader ; and to do this she was 
obliged frequently to yaw, or to make a traverse. Hence 
the Temeraire shared with the Victory — although not to 
quite so great an extent — the damage and loss of life 
sustained by the head of the weather English column, 
from the Allies' heavy and incessant raking fire. 

Shortly after the Victory opened her port guns the 
Temeraire opened hers ; and when the former put her 
helm aport, to steer towards the Redoutable, the Teme- 
raire, to keep clear of her leader, was compelled to do 



3.S6 NAVAT. BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the same, receiving a fire as she passed the Santlssima 
Trinidada, that did her much damage. 

At last, when the Victory passed through, the Teme- 
raire succeeded. Meanwhile the Victory had got foul of 
the Redoutable, and the two ships payed off to the 
eastward. The Temeraire had scarcely begun to haul 
up, to avoid being raked by the French Neptune, which 
was in a position to do so with impunity, when tlvi 
Temeraire discovered, through the smoke, the Redout- 
able driving down on board her. The wind was too light 
to work clear of her — and the French Neptune opened 
on the English ship, in a raking position, and soon 
shot away most of her spars. Rendered unmanageable, 
the Temeraire could only continue her cannonade of the 
Redoutable from her port battery. This she did until 
the French ship shut in her lower-deck ports, as we have 
seen she had already clone on the opposite side ; and 
then she fell on board the Temeraire — the French ship's 
bowsprit passing over the British ship's gangway, just 
before the mizzen-rigging, where, in order to have the 
benefit of a raking fire, the Temeraire's men lashed it. 
Then they poured in round after round, with most 
destructive effect. This fire of the Temeraire is said to 
have cost the French ship two hundred in killed and 
wounded. This happened just after the Victory and 
the Temeraire had got clear of each other — and just 
after Nelson had received his death wound. 

The three ships now lying nearly parallel, the two 
larger English ships had the French two-decker lyino- 
between them and riddled by their shot. The English 
had to use a diminished charge of powder to prevent their 
shot from passing through, to injure their friends, and 
their guns contained three shot each, and were much 
depressed. Fire was now the common enemy of the 



TRAFALGAR. f>87 

three ships, grappled together In this dogged fight. The 
seamen of the English ships were actually obliged to 
throw buckets of water into the holes made by their shot 
in the Redoutable's sides. All this time the Victory's 
guns, on the other side, had continued to play upon 
the Spanish four-decker, until the English Neptune 
came up and took charge of her. " The Redoutable, 
although she did not make use of her great guns, 
kept up a heavy fire of musketry, both from her decks 
and from her tops. In each of the latter were one or 
two brass cohorn mortars, which she repeatedly dis- 
charged, with great effect, upon the decks of her antago- 
nists. From the diagonal posidon of the Redoutable, 
at the time the Temeraire lashed her to her gangway, 
the quarter-deck and the poop of the Victory became 
greatly exposed to the top fire of the French ship, whose 
mizzen-top was just abaft and rather below the Victory's 
main-yard." About half- past one a musket ball frojn this 
top struck Lord Nelson in the left shoulder, as, having 
walked along the middle of the quarter-deck, from abaft, 
he was in the act of turning round to the right, near the 
main hatchway, to walk back, on the left hand of Captain 
Hardy, then a step or two in advance, giving some 
necessary orders. Dr. Beatty says, "Lord Nelson fell 
upon his face, in exactly the same spot where his Secre- 
tary had been killed early in the acdon ; and Scott's 
blood not having been removed, soiled Lord Nelson's 
clothes. He was raised at once by three of the crew, 
and Captain Hardy, on turning round, became aware of 
what had happened. Hardy eagerly said that he hoped 
he was not severely wounded, and Nelson replied, 'They 
have done for me at last. Hardy!' T hope not,' said 
Hardy. 'Yes,' replied the Admiral, * my backbone is 
shot through.' The men, by Captain Hardy's direction, 



388 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

bore the Admiral to the cockpit," where we shall leave 
him for the present. 

Although sure to suffer most from the effects of fire, 
the Redoutable continued to throw hand grenades from 
her tops and yard-arms, some of which, rebounding, set 
fire to her fore and main chains and shrouds. This fire 
communicated to the Temeraire, but was soon extin- 
guished by her people. 

The Victory's crew, after putting out a fire on the 
booms of that vessel, actually assisted in putting out the 
flames on board the Redoutable, throwing buckets of 
water from their ship. 

For a quarter of an hour after Nelson had received 
his wound the Victory maintained a steady cannonade at 
the hull of the Redoutable, receiving in return a fire of 
musketry which continued to kill or wound many officers 
and men. It was a little after two when the main and 
mizzen masts of the French ship fell. This stopped her 
formidable musketry, and the two English ships prepared 
to take possession of her. The Victory, however, tum- 
bled home so much that, the Frenchman's ports being 
shut, her, men could not board. The Temeraire, being 
French built, did not tumble in much, and she had, 
besides, the fallen mizzen-mast as a bridge — and down 
the latter the crew of the Temeraire scrambled, and 
boarded and took possession of the most gallantly fought 
French ship. 

Then another complication took place. The French 
ship Fougueux, 74, after engaging the Royal Sovereign, 
Belleisle, and Mars, stood slowly across for the starboard 
beam of the Temeraire — the latter lying with her head 
about east. The object of the Fougueux was probably 
to pass to windward of the Temeraire, and rake her ; or 
perhaps to board her — as the Temeraire's appearance 



TRAFALGAR. 389 

indicated that she was much disabled — her colors being 
then down, from having her gaff carried away. But the 
English ship had her starboard broadside in perfect 
readiness, and delayed firing until the Fougueux got quite 
close. Then she fired, and there was a fearful crash on 
board the French ship. Crippled and confused the 
latter fell on board the Temeraire, and there she was im- 
mediately lashed. Boarders from the Temeraire leaped 
on board of her at once — finding her Captain mortally 
wounded, and some of the other officers endeavorino- to 
rally the crew to repel boarders. In ten minutes she was 
a prize to the Temeraire. Four ships were thus locked 
together at once, but the Victory soon disengaged her- 
self, and lying" with her head to the northward, ceased 
firing, temporarily. She had been terribly cut up, and had 
lost fifty-seven killed, and one hundred and two wounded 
The Redoutable, which had occupied the exposed posi- 
tion, out of a crew of six hundred and forty-three, had 
lost three hundred killed, and two hundred and twenty- 
two wounded — including nearly all her officers. The 
Temeraire was much damaged, and her loss was forty- 
seven killed and seventy-six wounded. The Fougueux 
had not suffered nearly so much as the others. 

The Leviathan was the last English ship engaged with 
the French Commander-in-chief, which latter, upon hauling 
down her colors, was boarded by the Leviathan's Cap- 
tain of Marines and five men. 

On reaching the Bucentaure's quarter-deck, M. Ville- 
neuve and the first and second Captains presented their 
swords, but the Marine Officer declined to receive them, 
and referred them to Captain Pellew, of the Leviathan. 
Securing the magazine, and putdng the key In his pocket, 
and placing sentries at the cabin doors, the Marine Officer 
pulled off, with the French Admiral and his two Captains. 

25 A 



390 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

His own ship had proceeded in chase and left him, so he 
took the French officers on board the Mars — and here 
they remained prisoners. 

And now in regard to the huge four-decker, the Span- 
ish Santissima Trinidada. At haH'-past two she had been 
so sharply handled by different English ships, that she 
was dismasted, and lay an unmanageable wreck. The 
Neptune being called off by an attack from some of the 
ships of the Allied van, the Africa, 64, bore down ahead 
of the Sta. Trinidada. Meeting no return to her fire, 
and seeinof no colors hoisted, the Africa concluded that 
the four-decker had surrendered, and sent a boat to take 
possession. 

On the Lieutenant's reaching the quarter-deck and 
asking if she had surrendered, a Spanish officer answered 
"No," at the same time poindng to one Spanish and four 
French sail-of-the-line then passing to windward. As, 
owinp- to beinof dismasted, the four-decker was fast drift- 
ing away from the two fleets, the English Lieutenant, who 
had only a boat's crew with him, quitted the ship — being, 
singularly enough, permitted to do so — and returned to 
the Africa. 

The Sandssima Trinidada then remained without a 
prize crew undl about half-past five, when the Prince, 98, 
took her in tow, in obedience to signal. The great ship's 
loss in killed and wounded was very severe, having sus- 
tained, in succession, the raking fire of four different 
ships, and her hull, especially her stern and quarters, 
was dreadfully shattered. 

It is impossible to follow the fortunes of the other 
ships, interesting as they are, and remarkable for gallant 
actions on both sides. 

We must, however, mention the collision of the Allied 
van with some of the English ships. 



TRAFALGAR. S91 

At about half-past two the whole of the Allied van, 
except the Sta. Trinidada, began to put about, in obedi- 
ence to a signal from their Commander-in-chief to come 
quickly into close action. They did not comply very 
readily with the signal ; indeed, owing to the light wind, 
they could not do so. 

When ten ships got round on the starboard tack, five 
of them (four French and one Spanish), under Reat 
Admiral Duraanoir, hauled their wind, and the other five 
kept away, as if to join Admiral Gravina, then to lee- 
ward of the rear, in the act of making off. In the 
height of this confusion in the combined van, the Britan- 
nia, Agamemnon, Orion, and Ajax got intermingled 
among the French and Spanish ships that had put about 
and were edging away. Quite a spirited fight now took 
place between these, and Admiral Dumanoir, with his five 
ships, interchanged shots with many of the English, 

It was just at this moment that Captain Hardy dis- 
patched a Lieutenant to Vice-Admiral Collingwood, to 
inform him that Lord Nelson was wounded. 

The hauling to windward of Dumanoir gave the two 
rear ships of the English weather squadron, the Mino- 
taur and Spartiate, an opportunity of exchanging broad- 
sides with the French ships Formidable, Duguay- 
Trouin, Mont Blanc and Scipion, while they succeeded in 
cutting off the rear ship, the Spanish Neptune, 80, and 
she was captured, about five p. m. This was not done 
without a warm resistance from the Spaniard, which was 
the last ship which struck on that eventful day. 

The British fleet, in all this five hours' fighting, had 
only had 449 killed and 1241 wounded. 

While this fleet was securing their disabled and bat- 
tered prizes, and getting the latter, as well as themselves, 
in a state to keep the sea, and while the more fortunate 



392 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of the French and Spanish ships were profiting by the 
occasion to effect their escape from the scene of disaster^ 
let us look at the cockpit of the Victory, where lay, dying, 
the chief hero of the day. 

The manner of receiving his wound has been already 
described. Dr. Beatty, who had the ball in his posses- 
sion, says it was not fired from a rifled piece, although it 
was stated, in Southey's life of Nelson, that Tyrolean 
riflemen were posted in the tops of the French ship. 

Dr. Beatty says, "While the men were carrying Lord 
Nelson down the ladder, from the middle deck, his Lord- 
ship observed that the tiller ropes were not yet replaced, 
and sent a midshipman to remind Captain Hardy of the 
circumstance, and requested that new ones should be 
immediately rove. Having given this order, he took his 
handkerchief from his pocket and covered his face, that 
he might not, at this crisis, be recognized by the crew." 
These are most thoughtful and touching precautions. 

When he was dying Captain Hardy came down, with 
tidings of the victory being certain. Dr. Beatty says, 
" Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy shook hands, and the 
Captain congratulated him, even in the arms of death, 
upon the brilliant victory, which he said was complete, 
although he did not know how many ships were cap- 
tured ; certainly fourteen or fifteen. Nelson said, 'That 
is well, but I bargained for twenty,' and then emphati- 
cally exclaimed, 'Anchor, Hardy, anchor ! ' 'I suppose, 
my Lord, Admiral Collingwood will now take upon him- 
self the direction of affairs.' ' Not while I live, I hope. 
Hardy ! ' cried Nelson ; ' No, do you anchor. Hardy.' 
Captain Hardy then said, 'Shall zve make the signal, 
sir?' 'Ves.' answered Nelson, 'for if I live, I'll 
anchor.' '" 

In about K/teen minutes Lord Nelson became speechless, 



TRAFALGAR. 3r)3 

and died at half-past four. His best and truest friends 
only regretted that he had not died instantly, on the 
quarter-deck, when he was wounded. 

All nations have done justice to Nelson's character, 
and a celebrated French writer says, he "ought to be 
held up as a model to Admirals, both for the extraordi- 
nary pains he took to know his Admirals and Captains, 
and by the spirit of the attacks which he resolved to 
undertake. He unfolded to them his general plan of 
operations, and the modifications with which the weather 
or the manoeuvres of the enemy might force him to 
qualify his original determination. 

When once he had explained his system to the superior 
officers of his fleet, he confided to them the charge of 
acting according to circumstances, so as to lead, in the 
most favorable manner, to the consummation of the 
enterprise so planned. And Nelson, who was allowed to 
choose the companions of his glory, possessed the talent 
and the happiness to find men worthy of his instruction 
and confidence. They learned, in acdon. to supply what 
had escaped his forethought, and in success to surpass 
even his hopes." 

The immediate result of the Battle of Trafalgar was 
seventeen French and Spanish ships-of-the-line captured, 
and one French ship burnt. Four French ships effected 
their escape to the southward ; and Admiral Gravina, 
"with eleven French and Spanish ships-of-the-line, and the 
smaller vessels, anchored under Rota, in the course of the 
succeeding night. 

At six p. M. Vice-Admiral Collingwood, now Com^ 
mander-in-Chief, shifted his flag to the Euryalus frigate, 
and the latter, taking the Royal Sovereign in tow, stooc( 
off shore with her. 

Most of" the British ships were so damaged, either in 



394 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Spars or hull, that they were not In a condition to carry 
sail. 

Of seventeen prizes, eight were wholly dismasted, the 
remainder partly so. Some were nearly in a sinking 
condition. 

To add to their perilous condition, they were then in 
thirteen fathoms of water, with the shoals of Trafalgar 
only a few miles to leeward. Fortunately the wind, 
which was west-south-west, and dead on shore, was 
moderate; but there was a high swell, which was bad for 
wounded masts. At nine p. M. the Vice-Admiral made 
the signal to anchor, but few could do so, as many cables 
were cut by shot. At midnight the wind veered to south- 
south-west, and freshened, and signals were made to 
to those under way to wear, with heads to the westward. 
Four of the dismasted prizes anciiored off Cape Tra- 
falgar, and the rest wore, and drifted seaward. Next 
mornino- CoUinewood issued a efeneral order of thanks 
to the fleet. 

There was then a fresh southerly wind ; but thirteen 
of the prizes, which had remained under way, were got 
hold of, and towed to the westward. But at five o'clock 
that afternoon it was found that the Redoutable was 
sinking, which she did, with many French prisoners and 
her prize crew on board. Some were saved on a raft, 
but many were lost. Other fearful casualties occurred 
during the rough weather of the succeeding night. The 
Fougueux was lost, with all on board but twenty-five ; 
and the Algesiras was given up to the prisoners, who 
carried her into Cadiz. The Bucentaure was wrecked, 
but her crew was saved. 

A heavy gale continued, and on the 23d the French 
Captain, Cosmao-Kerjulien, with five ships and five 
frigates, recaptured two of the prizes, which were drifting 



TRAFALGAR. 395 

about. But in doing so one of his own ships, the Indompt 
able, a fine eighty-gun vessel, was wrecked, with all on 
board lost ; and the Spanish ship St. Francis d' Assis was 
lost, with most of her crew. Other casualties occurred. 

Altogether, of the ships captured by the British, at the 
end of the operations only four — one French and three 
Spanish 74' s — remained as trophies in the hands of the 
conquerors. Nor was one of them worth the pains and 
risk taken to preserve her. The Victory, towed by the 
Neptune, arrived at Gibraltar on the 28th of October, 
and on the 3d of November, having been partially 
refitted, she sailed for England — having Nelson's body, 
preserved in spirits, on board. At Chatham the Admi- 
ralty yacht received the coffin, which was made of the 
main-mast of the French flag-ship Orient, which was 
burnt at the batde of the Nile — and which had been 
presented to Nelson by Captain Hallowell. This was 
placed in a leaden coffin ; and his flag, which had been 
kept at half-mast on board the Victory, was struck for 
the last time. 

His body, thus encoffined, lay in state at Green- 
wich Hospital; and on the 9th of January, 1806, was 
buried, with great pomp, in St. Paul's Cathedral. 

Lord Nelson was engaged in action with an enemy 
over one hundred and twenty times, and besides being 
severely wounded elsewhere, lost his right eye and his 
right arm. 

He had not long passed his forty-seventh birthday 
when he was killed. 

His brother William was made an Earl, with /6000 per 
annum and ^100,000 for the purchase of an estate; 
.vhile ^10,000 pounds were given to each of his sisters. 

It was also decided that two ships should be built ; 
one of one hundred and twenty guns, to be called the 



396 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Nelson ; and one of ninety-eight guns, to be called the 
Trafalgar. Collingwood was made a Baron, and voted 
;^20oo per annum ; and, of course, there were a very 
large numh-^jf ^f minor promotions. 



LORD EXMOUTil AT ALGIERS. 



3^7 



LORD EXMOUTH AT ALGIERS. A. D. 1816. 




•ISCOUNT Exmouth (Sir Edward Pellew), a 
celebrated English Admiral, was born at 
Dover, in 1757. His family was Norman, 
but had been settled in Cornwall for many 
centuries. Entering the English navy at 
the age of thirteen, he soon distinguished 
himself for his daring, activity, intelligence, 
and all other qualities which go to make up 
a ofood officer. 
His first war service was at the battle of Lake 
Champlain, in our own country, when he succeeded to 
the command of the schooner Carleton, and won a 
Lieutenant's commission. The next year he served in 
Burgoyne's unfortunate campaign, in command of a 
detachment of seamen, whose tremendous labor in the 
lakes and rivers was entirely thrown away by Burgoyne's 
capture. 

After this he was employed actively against the French, 
and was knighted for a very gallant action, when, in 
command of the Nymphe frigate, he captured the 
Cleopatra, a much heavier ship. In 1 794, in command 
of the Arethusa frigate, he captured the French frigate 
Pomone ; and in consequence was given the command 
of a division, when he again distinguished himself 

Always noted for deeds of daring, one of the most 
remarkable of these was his boarding the wrecked 



398 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN, 

transport Sutton, shipwrecked on the coast of England 
He took charge, and by his personal influence and great 
exertions, saved the lives of all on board. 

In 1 798, in command of the Impetueux, of the Channel 
ileet, he participated in several actions. He then entered 
Parliament, and was known as a strenuous supporter of 
the policy of William Pitt. 

In 1804 he was made a Rear- Admiral, and appointed 
Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, when he sue 
ceeded in nearly clearing those seas of the French cruisers, 
w^hich had done so much damage to English commerce. 

He returned to England in 1809, and was immediately 
appointed to the Command in the North Sea. After this 
he served as Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, 
and in 18 14 was raised to the peerage. 

The atrocities committed by the Algerines, and the 
barbarous massacre of the crews of more than three 
hundred small vessels, at Bona, on the 23d of May, 
181 6, induced the British Government to prepare an 
expedition to act against the forts and shipping of Algiers. 
This piratical city had often been attacked and bombarded 
before, notably by the celebrated French Admiral Du- 
quesne, in the latter part of the 17th century; but it was 
reserved for Lord Exmouth and an English fleet to give 
it a final blow. 

On the 28th of July, 181 6, Lord Exmouth sailed from 
Plymouth Sound, in command of a fleet bound to Algiers. 
His flag-ship was the Queen Charlotte, of 100 guns, and 
Rear-Admiral Milne, his second in command, was in lac 
Impregnable, 98. There were also three 74s, one 50, 
two 40s, two 36s, five brigs, and four bomb-vessels. 

Upon reaching Gibraltar, on the 9th of August, Lord 
Exmouth was joined by the Minden, 74, and also received 
offers of co-operation from Vice-Admiral Baron Van de 



LORD EXMOUTK AT ALGIERS. 399 

Cappellen, of the Dutch navy, which Exmouth very 
cordially received. The Dutch had four forty-gun ships, 
a thirty, and a sloop of eighteen guns. 

On the 1 3th of August each captain received a plan of 
the fortificadons they were to attack, and definite Instruc- 
dons, and the whole fleet, amoundng to twenty-three 
sail, with five gun-boats, and a sloop, fitted as an explosion 
vessel, weighed anchor, and proceeded for their desdna- 
tion. 

On the passage they were joined by a sloop-of-war, 
which had taken off the wife and children of the Bridsh 
Consul at Algiers. But the Consul himself had been most 
arbitrarily detained by the Dey, together with the Surgeon, 
three Midshipmen, and eighteen men belonging to the 
sloop-of-war. (Any one curious in regard to these 
remarkable transacdons cannot do better than read the 
book upon Algiers, by Mr. Shale r, American Consul 
there at the dme of the bombardment. Mr. Shaler, In 
his work, points out the true way to take Algiers, and his 
advice was afterwards followed by the French, when they 
took the place.) 

The fordfications of Algiers were deemed almost Im- 
pregnable, especially by the ardllery of that dme ; upon 
the various batteries on the north side of the bay eighty 
pieces of cannon and eight heavy mortars were mounted; 
but the water was so shoal that a large ship could not 
come within their reach. Between the north wall of the 
city and the commencement of the mole (which was 
about 800 feet long, and which connected the town with 
the lighthouse) were about twenty guns ; and a semi- 
circular battery, mounting two tiers of guns, about forty- 
four In all, stood on the northern projecdon of the mole. 
To the southward of that, and nearly In a line with the 
pier, was the lighthouse battery, of three ders, mountii,- 



400 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

forty-eight guns, next to which was the eastern battery, 
mounting sixty-six guns in three tiers, flanked by four 
other batteries, of two tiers, mounting altogether sixty 
guns, and on the mole-head were two long 68-pounders, 
described as being twenty feet in length. The total 
number of guns on the mole and pier was at least 220, 
composed of 32, 24, and i8-pounders. 

The "fish-market" battery, about 300 yards west from 
the south mole-head, mounted fifteen guns, in three tiers. 
Between that and the southern extremity of the city were 
two batteries of five guns each. Beyond the city, in this 
direction, was a castle and three other batteries, mounting 
altogether about seventy guns. In the rear of the city, 
and on the heights, were several other batteries ; so that 
the total number of guns mounted for the defence of this 
fastness of robb-ry, oppression, and cruelty, exceeded 
1000. 

On the 27th of August, at daybreak, the city of Algiers 
was in sight, but the ships were lying nearly becalmed. 
A boat in charge of a Lieutenant was despatched to the 
Dey, to demand compliance with the following conditions : 
the abolition of Christian slavery; the release of all 
Christian slaves ; the repayment of the money recently 
exacted for the redemption of Neapolitan and Sardinian 
slaves ; peace with the King of the Netherlands ; and 
the immediate liberation of the Enelish Consul and the 
officers and boats' crews of the Prometheus. 

The boat with the flag of truce was towed in shore, 
and was met, at 1 1 a. m., near the mole, by an Algerine 
boat, in which was the Captain of the Port, who promised 
a reply in two hours. In the meantime the sea breeze 
sprang up, and the whole fleet stood into the bay, and 
hove to, about a mile from the batteries. At 2 p. m., no 
answer having been rec^ved, the boat sent with the 



LORt) EXMOUTH AT ALGIERS. 401 

message made signal to that effect, and returned to her 
own ship. 

Lord Exmouth at once demanded, by signal, if all the 
ships were ready, and being answered in the affirmative, 
the fleet bore up for the attack, in the order precisely 
laid down. 

About half-past two in the afternoon the flag-ship, 
Queen Charlotte, anchored, with springs, about fifty yard;i 
from the mole-head ; and while in the act of makine a 
warp fast to an Algerine brig on shore at the mouth of 
the harbor, a shot was fired at the ship ; and at the same 
moment two shots from the opposite end of the mole 
were fired at the Impregnable, and other ships, as they 
were advancing to take their stations. 

Lord Exmouth, unwilling to sacrifice the mass of 
Algerine townspeople standing on the parapet of the 
mole, and gazing with astonishment at the strange ships, 
waved his hand to them to descend, and at once gave 
orders to commence firing, when the action became 
general, as soon as the guns would bear. 

On the Queen Charlotte's port bow lay the Leander, 
50, occupying the place in line of a line-of-batde ship, 
with her starboard after guns bearing upon the mole, and 
her forward guns upon the "fish-market" battery. 

Ahead of the Leander was the Severn, 40, her star- 
board broadside bearing full upon the " fish-market" 
battery. Close to the Severn was the Glasgow, 40, whose 
port guns bore upon the town batteries. On the port 
quarter of the Queen Charlotte was the Superb, 74, her 
starboard broadside bearing on the 60-gun battery next 
to the one on the mole-head. It was Intended that the 
Impregnable, 98, and Albion, 74, should take their places 
close astern of the Superb, but the former, not being suf- 
ficiently up when the firing began, brought up consider- 



402 NAVAL IJATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ably outside of her appointed station, and beyond the 
line of bearing within which the attacking force had been 
ordered to assemble. The Impregnable, in consequence, 
lay exposed, at the distance of five hundred yards, to the 
lighthouse battery of three tiers, as well as to the eastern 
battery of two tiers. The Minden pushed on and 
dropped her anchor in the space between the Impreg- 
nable and Superb, on the port quarter of the latter. The 
Albion brought up near the Impregnable, but weighed 
again, and, about three o'clock, anchored close astern of 
the Minden. 

The end of her stream cable was then passed out of 
the gun-room port of the latter, by which the Albion was 
hove close to the stern of the Minden. 

Thus the line-of-battle ships took their stations in a 
northerly direction from the mole-head ; and the frigates 
from the "fish-market" battery, In a curved line to the 
southwest. 

The Dutch Admiral Intended to have placed his 
flag-ship, a frigate called the Melampus, in the centre of 
his squadron, and against the batteries to the southward 
of the city; but not being able to take this station, in 
consequence of the Diana being too far to the southward, 
he ran past that frigate, and anchored the Melampus with 
her jib-boom over the Glasgow's taffrail. 

The Diana and Dageraad anchored astern of the 
Melampus, and the other two Dutch frigates further out; 
the corvette remaining under way. The Hebrus, 36, 
being becalmed, anchored a little without the line, on the 
port quarter of the Queen Charlotte. The Granicus, 2,6, 
hove to, in order to allow the large ships to take their 
places; after which she steered for the Admiral's flag, 
which alone could be seen over the clouds of smoke 
already formed, and anchored in a space scarcely exceed- 



LORD EXMOUTH AT ALGIERS. 403 

ing her own length, between the Superb and Queen 
Charlotte. 

The skill with which Captain Wise, her commander, 
took up this position elicited the admiration of all who 
witnessed it. The bri^s of the fleet either anchored or 
kept under way, as most convenient. The bomb vessels 
anchored about two thousand yards from the Algerine 
])atteries; except one, which took up an inside berth; 
and the gun-boats and mortar-boats placed themselves 
where they could most annoy the enemy. 

The Leander was especially charged with the Algerine 
gun-boats and row-galleys, which she was not long in 
destroying by her fire; and at about four p. m. she 
ceased firing, that the barge of the Queen Charlotte 
might set fire to an Algerine frigate which was lying 
across the mole. This service was gallantly performed, 
and the frigate was soon in flames; the boat returning 
with the loss of only two men killed. Lord Exmouth 
particularly complimented those employed in this service. 
A young Midshipman, in command of a rocket-boat, 
followed the barge, but, owing to the slowness of his 
boat, was much exposed to a heavy fire from the 
batteries, and was wounded, with nine of his boat's 
crew ; while another Midshipman who was with him was 
killed. 

About half-past four Rear Admiral Milne sent a mes- 
sage to Lord Exmouth, stating that the Impregnable had 
sustained a loss of one hundred and fifty in killed and 
wounded, and requesting that a frigate might be sent to 
divert some of the fire from that ship. 

The Glasgow attempted to perform that service, but, 
it being perfectly calm, the frigate was unable, after an 
hour's exertion, to reach the intended position, and was 
obliged to anchor just ahead of the Severn, with her 



404 NAVAL BATlXES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

stern towards that ship, and thus become exposed to o- 
severe fire from the ''fish market" and contiguous bat- 
teries. Somewhat later the Leander, liavmg also suffered 
severely from these batteries, ran out a hawser to the 
Severn, and sprang- her broadside round upon them. 

The mortar and rocket-boats had by this time set all 
the vessels within the harbor on fire, and the flames soon 
reached the arsenal and storehouses on the mole. The 
city was also on fire in several places, from the shells 
thrown by the bomb-vessels. The sloop fitted for an 
explosion vessel was now run on shore, close under 
a semi-circular battery, to the northward of the light- 
house, and about nine at night this vessel, charged with 
about 150 barrels of powder, was exploded. The effect 
of It is not recorded, and was probably not much, as 
similar explosions have since failed to produce any great 
result. 

The fleet continued a tremendous cannonade until ten 
p. M., when, the upper tiers of the batteries on the mole 
being nearly destroyed, and the lower tiers almost 
silenced, the Queen Charlotte cut her cables and stood 
off, with a light breeze from the land, directing the 
rest of the ships to follow her. The breeze was so 
light that the Superb and Impregnable, in standing off, 
suffered much from the rakine fire of a fort at the 
upper angle of the city, which rises up the side of a hill, 
the walls coming to an angle at the top. When the 
Leander's cable was slipped she was found to have 
sustained so much damage aloft that she was unman- 
ageable, and fast drifting down on the mole, where the 
enemy's ships were burning. Fortunately she got a 
hawser to the Severn, and was towed off. Had she 
taken the ground, she must have been destroyed, with 
the greater part of her crew. 



LORD EXMOUTH AT ALGIERS. 405 

Two or three times the hawser parted, but was as often 
reconveyed by the boats, under sharp musketry fire from 
the mole. At length the Severn got a good breeze, and 
the Leander was saved from her perilous situation. 

Before two o'clock in the mornino- the whole fleet was 
beyond the reach of the enemy's shot, being greatly 
assisted in taking up an anchorage by the blaze of the 
burning Algerine fleet, which illuminated the whole bay, 
and lighted up the terraced town, with its white houses 
rising one above the other to the fort, which dominated 
the whole. 

As if to add to the grandeur and wildness of the scene, 
a storm of thunder and lightning came on, and lasted till 
daybreak. 

At daybreak in the morning the bomb vessels were 
ordered to again take up their stations, in readiness to 
resume the bombardment of the city ; while Lord 
Exmouth's Flag-Lieutenant was despatched with a flag 
of truce, to repeat the demands made on the preceding 
day. The Algerine officer who came out to meet the flag 
of truce declared that an answer had been sent the day 
before, but that no boat could be found to receive it. 

On the 29th the Captain of the Port came off, 
accompanied by the British Consul, who had been 
Imprisoned by the Dey ; and the same afternoon an 
English Captain landed, and had a conference with the 
Dey, at his palace ; which resulted in the delivery to the 
British of more than twelve hundred Christian slaves, the 
restoration of nearly ^400,000 for slaves redeemed by 
Naples and Sicily, peace between Algiers and the 
Netherlands, and $30,000 paid to the British Consul, as 
compensation for the loss of his property, which had 
been plundered. The Dey, moreover, made an apology 
for his detention. 

26 



406 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The loss of the attacking party in this successful 
bombardment was one hundred and forty-one killed and 
seven hundred and forty-two wounded. The Dutch 
squadron, which was highly complimented by Lord 
Exmouth for gallant conduct, lost, of the above, thirteen 
killed and fifty-two wounded. 

This bombardment broke the Algerine power com- 
pletely, and put an end, almost altogether, to her piratical 
exploits. 

Fourteen years afterwards the country was captured 
by France, and has ever since remained in the possession 
of that country. 



NAVARINO. 



407 



NAVARINO, 1827. 




I'N the summer of 1827, an English squadron, 
under Vice Admiral Sir Edward Codrino-ton. 
actmg m concert with a division of French 
ships, under Rear-Admiral De Rigny, and 
a Russian squadron, under Rear-Admiral 
Count Heiden, assembled in the Mediter- 
ranean. 

The object this allied fleet had in view was 
the enforcement of a protocol, signed at St. Petersburo-, 
on April 4th, 1826, for the protection of the inhabitants of 
the Morea from the cruelties practiced upon them by the 
Turks, under Ibrahim Pacha. Russia would probably 
have interfered alone, and England and France were, no 
doubt, fearful of the possible consequences of allowing 
Russia to do so, in the war then being carried on between 
the Greeks and their Turkish oppressors. 

A further agreement between the three powers was 
come to in London, July 6th, 1827, and they insisted, in the 
first place, upon an armistice between Turkey and Greece. 
This was agreed to by the belligerents, but was violated 
by Turkey almost as soon as her assent was given. This 
conduct on the part of the Porte led directly to the short 
but very terrible naval battle of Navarino, on the 20th of 
October, in the same year. 

On the 3d of September an Egypdan fleet, with troops, 
entered the harbor of Navarino, where they were closely 



408 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN.'' 

watched by the combined squadrons. On the 19th, finding 
that the British squadron alone remained off the port, 
Ibrahim Pacha, wishing to send rehef to Patras, ordered 
out a division of his fleet, but finding their movements 
watched, they returned to Navarlno. 

Rear-Admiral De Rigny having rejoined the block- 
ading squadron, a conference took place on the 25th, in 
the tent of Ibrahim, who then agreed to suspend hostilities 
ao-ainst the Greeks until an answer could be ol^tained 
from Constantinople, and that, in the meantime, his fleet 
should not quit the harbor. Upon the faith of this 
assurance, nearly all the Allied ships were withdrawn 
from before Navarino. Part of the squadron was sent to 
Malta, to refit; the British Admiral went to Zante, and 
the French to Milo, for provisions. The Dartmouth and 
Armide, frigates, alone remained off the port. 

Scarcely had the English Admiral anchored at Zante 
when the Dartmouth hove in sight, with the signal flying 
that the Turks had put to sea; and the Armide, proceed- 
ing towards Milo, overtook the French Admiral before 
he reached that place. Sir Edward Codrington, having 
with him a frigate and two corvettes only, intercepted the 
Turkish squadron, consisting of seven frigates, nine 
corvettes, two brigs, and nineteen transports; which, on 
his firm remonstrance, all put back. A second division, 
of six Egyptian frigates and eight brigs, had likewise put 
to sea, but they also returned, and the whole re-entered 
Navarino on the 4th of October. By the 15th the 
different Allied squadrons were again assembled off 
Navarino; and Ibrahim, thus blocked up, continued his 
tyrannical proceedings inland. Various attempts were 
made to communicate with him, but without success; and 
a final confe-rence was called, on the i8th of October, on 
board Codrington's flag-ship, the Asia ; at which it was 



NAVARINO. ^Q2 

decided to enter the harbor of Navarino, and from thence 
renew the negotiations. On the evening of the loth 
Vice Admiral Codrington issued full instructions to the 
whole force, pointing out the position for anchoring each 
division, but concluding with the well known advice of 
Lord Nelson, " If a general action should take place, no 
Captain can be better placed than when his vessel is 
alongside one of the enemy." 

The harbor of Navarino was the scene, four hundred 
and twenty-five years before Christ, of a great naval batde 
between Athens and Sparta, in which the latter suffered 
an overwhelming defeat. 

The harbor is about six miles in circumference The 
niainland bends round three sides of it, almost in a horse- 
shoe, and the island of Sphacteria, two miles in length 
and a quarter of a mile in breadth, stretches across from 
one headland to the other. The only available passage 
into Navarino is at the southern end of the island, and is 
about SIX hundred yards in width. On enterino- the 
passage there appears at the right a bold promontory 
dominated by a fort, originally built by the Venetians, 
and under the fort the small walled town of Navarino 
near which Ibrahim's army was encamped. 

On the southern extremity of the island, almost 
opposite to the fortress on the promontory, another fort 
was placed. The first fortress was very formidable 
mounting 125 guns, and, with that on the island, was well 
placed to defend the entrance of the harbor, as well as 
to command the anchorage within. At the northern end 
ot the island was a third battery, which also commanded 
the harbor. 

At about half-past one p. m., on the 20th of October 
the signal was made by the Asia to prepare for action,' 
anH the combined fleet weighed anchor, and stood into 



410 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the harbor. The British and French formed the weathei" 
or starboard column, and the Russians the lee line. 

The following were the vessels composing the allied 
fleet; The Asia, of 80 guns, Vice-Admiral Codrington's 
flag-ship; two 74s, the Genoa and Albion; four frigates 
of various force, from 50 to 28 guns; and one corvette, 
three brigs, and a cutter. 

The French had two 80-gun ships, the Trident and 
Breslau ; one yS, the Scipion; one 60, the Sirene, flag- 
ship; the Armide frigate, 46 guns, and two corvettes. 

The Russian squadron consisted of the Azoff, 80 ; the 
Gargoute, Ezekiel, and Newsky, 76; three 46-gun 
frigates, and one 48. 

The Turco-Egyptian fleet consisted of three ships-of- 
the-line, one razee, sixteen frigates, twenty-seven cor- 
vettes, and twenty-seven brigs, with six fire-ships. To 
these must be added the guns in the forts, on shore, in 
number about 200, and some armed transports, which 
brought the number of Turkish guns up to about 2000. 

About 2 r. M. the Asia, leading, arrived at the mouth 
of the harbor, and passed unmolested within pistol-shot 
of the heavy battery on the starboard hand. The Turks 
and Egyptians were moored in the form of a crescent, 
the larger ones presenting their broadsides towards the 
centre, and the smaller ones inside, filling up the intervals. 
The Asia anchored close alongside a ship-of-the-line 
bearing the flag of the Capitan Bey, and on the port or 
inner quarter of a large double-banked frigate with the 
flag of Moharem Bey, Commander-in-chief of the Egyp- 
tian squadron. The Genoa followed within one hundred 
yards of her leader, and brought up abreast of a large 
frigate astern of the Admiral; the Albion, in turn, 
anchored astern of the Genoa. The Russian Admiral 
was to look out for four ships which were to windward, 



NAVARINO. 411 

part of the Egyptian squadron, and those to leeward, in 
the bight of the crescent, were to mark the stations 
of the whole Russian squadron, the ships of their line 
closing with the English. 

The French frigate Armide was to take her station' 
alongside the outermost frigate on the left, in entering 
the harbor, and three English frigates next to her. The 
smaller English vessels were to watch the movements of 
the fire-ships. 

Strict orders were given by Admiral Codrington that 
not a gun should be fired unless the Allied squadrons 
were first attacked by the Turks, and these orders were 
rigidly observed. 

The entry of the Allied fleets was silently permitted by 
the Turks, who did not call to quarters, either with drum 
or trumpet, and an ominous silence was preserved 
throughout their line ; so it was difficult to suppose that 
a most bloody batde was about to take place. 

The Turkish fleet and batteries were prepared for 
action, however; and it so proved when the Dartmouth 
frigate, which had anchored close to the fire-ships, and 
whose Captain, perceiving certain movements on board 
of them which induced him to believe that the Turks 
were about to act on the offensive, sent a boat, under 
command of a lieutenant, to request that the fire-ships 
should quit the anchorage occupied by the Allies. Upon 
the boat's proceeding alongside the fire-ship, a fire of 
musketry was opened upon her, and the lieutenant and 
several of the crew were killed. The fire was replied to 
from the boat, and the sharp report of small arms, echoing 
from the surrounding rocky eminences, seemed to awake 
the Turks from a torpor. 

Just at this critical moment the French flag-ship, the 
Sir^ne, which was close alongside the Egyptian frigate 



412 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Esnina, hailed, to say that she should not fire if the Esnina 
did not. The words had hardly passed the French Cap- 
tain's lips when the Egyptain fired her broadside slap 
into the Sirene. So quickly that it seemed an echo, the 
formidable broadside of the Sirene was heard in reply, 
delivered point blank into the Esnina. At the same 
moment the Turkish Admiral fired a shot, and upon this 
the whole Allied fleet in a position to do so opened fire 
upon the Turks. 

The Asia, though abreast of the ship of the Capitan 
Bey, was nearer to that of Moharem Bey ; and as the 
latter did not fire at the Asia, the English flag-ship did 
not fire at her. A messenger was sent to the Asia by 
Moharem Bey, to say that he did not intend to fire, and 
Admiral Codrington, still unwilling to believe a serious 
engagement possible, sent a boat with a Mr. Mitchell, 
who was acting as pilot and interpreter, to assure 
Moharem of his desire to avoid bloodshed. 

But Mitchell was treacherously shot dead when descend- 
ing the side of the Egyptian ship. Soon after the Egyptian 
opened fire, and as Admiral Codrington says, in his 
dispatch, "was consequently effectually destroyed by the 
Asia's fire, sharing the same fate as his brother Admiral 
on the starboard side, and falling to leeward, a complete 
wreck." The action then became general ; and the ships 
were soon enveloped in dense clouds of powder smoke, 
only lighted by the rapid flashes of the guns ; and very 
soon these lurid flashes became the only guides by which 
the gunners could sight their pieces. In this dreadfu 
turmoil the drill, discipline and experience of th 
Europeans gave them the advantage. As their shot tola 
more truly than those of the Turks, each broadside of 
the Allies tore through the hulls, swept the decks, and 
wrecked the masts and rigging of the Ottoman fleet. 



NAVARINO. 413 

The Turks, raging, furious and desperate, fought with 
blind and ill-directed courage. In working their guns 
they seemed only anxious to fire rapidly, without taking 
nme to point their pieces. Less carried away by rage, 
and a little more skillful, they should have overwhelmed 
the Allies, for they had treble the number of guns. In 
the meantime the Allies kept up a close, cool and accu- 
rate fire, and the Turkish losses soon became frightful. 

Two fire-ships were soon in flames, and a third blew 
up, while a fourth was sunk by shot. The forts opened 
upon the Allies, and that of Navarino, especially, com- 
mitted much havoc ; but almost as much among friends 
as foes. 

The Russian ships did not reach their assigned posi- 
tions until about three o'clock, when the fire was at its 
height. The Asia's fire having disposed of her two 
opponents, that ship became exposed to a severe raking 
fire from the Turkish inner lines, by which her mizzen- 
mast was shot away, several guns disabled, and many of 
her crew killed and wounded. The Master of the Asia 
was killed in the early part of the action, while bringing 
both broadsides to bear upon the Turkish and Egyptian 
Admirals. Captain Bell, of the marines, was also killed, 
and Sir Edward Codrington was struck by a musket-ball, 
which knocked his watch out of his pocket, and battered 
it to pieces. The Genoa, next astern the English 
Admiral, suffered very severely, being engaged from 
first to last, and doing excellent service. As the Turks 
fired high, the carnage among the marines on the poops 
of the large vessels was so great that it was thought best 
to remove them to the quarter deck, and their loss was 
especially great in the Genoa. Commodore Bathurst, 
of that ship, was wounded three times; the last time 
mortally, by a grape-shot which passed through his body \X 



414 NAVAL BAITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and lodged in the opposite bulwark. The French 
frigate Armide sustained for a long time, and without 
being disabled, the fire of five Egyptian frigates. The 
French Hne-of-battle ship Scipion was on fire no less than 
four times, from a fire-ship which lay in flames across her 
fore-fooL Each time the flames were extinguished; and 
that without any perceptible want of regularity in her 
fire. The English ship Albion, next astern of the Genoa, 
was exposed to the united fire of a cluster of ships, 
including one 74, and two 64-gun ships About half an 
hour after the action commenced one of the Turkish 
ships fell foul of the Albion, and her crew made an 
attempt to board, but were repulsed with heavy loss. 
The Turkish ship was in turn boarded and taken. The 
EnMIsh were in the act of releaslncr a number of Greek 
prisoners secured in the hold of this ship, when she was 
discovered to be on fire. The English, therefore, left her, 
having cut her cables, and the Turk, enveloped in flames, 
drifted clear of the Albion, and, shortly after, blew up, 
with a tremendous explosion. 

The two remalming large Turkish ships again opened 
upon the Albion; but she returned the fire so vigorously 
that the largest of the two was soon in flames. The 
Albion was all the afternoon surrounded by blazing 
ships ; but at dusk she got under way, and stood clear 
of them. 

The ships of all three of the Allies seem to have 
behaved with equal gallantry ; but the performance of 
the little cutter, the Hind, tender to the Asia, deserves 
especial mention. She was of one hundred and sixty 
tons, mounted eight light guns, and had a crew of thirty 
men. She had been to Zante, and only returned as the 
Allied squadrons were entering Navarino, and her gallant 
Commander determined, notwithstanding his trifling force, 



NAVARINO. 415 

to have his share in the glories of the day. He accord- 
ingly entered with the rest, and, taking up a raking 
position astern of a large frigate, at only a few yards 
distance, opened upon her a sharp fire. The cutter was 
exposed to the fire of several small vessels, and in 
about three quarters of an hour they cutjier cables, and 
she drifted away between a large corvette and a brig, 
which she engaged until the brig caught fire and blew 
up. The Hind then continued to fire into the corvette, 
until her remaining cable was cut, and she drifted clear 
of her adversary. Still drifting, in the hottest of the 
fire, the little Hind fouled a Turkish frigate ; her main- 
boom entering one of the main-deck ports ; and the 
Turks were about to board her. In this they were 
repeatedly repulsed; and at last the Turks manned a 
large boat, to try to carry her in that way. The Hind's 
crew knocked this boat to pieces with her carronades, 
crammed to the muzzle with grape and canister; and the 
cutter soon after drifted clear of the frigate, just as a 
general cessation of fire took place. 

Her loss, in all this fighting, only amounted to a Mate 
and three men killed, and a Midshipman and nine men 
wounded. 

As we have said, the French ships behaved admirably, 
as did the Russians. In fact, the position of the con- 
tending ships was such that the mutual and perfect 
co-operation of each ship of the Allied squadron was 
absolutely necessary to bring about a favorable termina- 
tion. Had the Russians or French not taken their full 
share in the day's work, the British must have been 
annihilated. 

The close and continued cannonade caused complete 
and dreadful destruction to the Turks. About forty of 
their vessels, of different rates, feU a prey to the flames, 



416 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

exploding their magazines in succession, as the fire 
reached them, and covering the waters of the bay with 
their fragments and the burned and mutilated bodies of 
their crews. By five p. u. the entire first line of the 
Turks was destroyed, and by seven there remained 
afloat, of all their formidable armament, only a few small 
vessels which had been furthest in shore. These were 
mostly abandoned by their crews, who had made their 
escape to the neighboring hills. 

Sir Edward Codrington reported that, on the morning 
after the battle, "out of a fleet composed of eighty-one 
vessels, only one frigate and fifteen smaller vessels are 
in a state ever again to put to sea." 

The allied fleets lost 177 killed and 480 wounded. 
The Turks were estimated to have lost at least six 
thousand killed. 

This action created a great sensation throughout 
Europe ; not only because no great naval action had 
been fought for some years, but because the friends of 
Grecian independence saw in the battle the probable 
freedom of that oppressed State. But politicians were 
alarmed at what they feared would be the deplorable 
consequences of leaving Turkey disarmed, in the pres- 
ence of ambitious and menacing Russia, as the battle had 
already, it was said, " turned the Black Sea into a Russian 
lake," and that great opportunity for Greece was lost 
through the fears and vacillation of diplomatists. 




siNon. 



417 



SINOPE, 1853. 




INOPE IS a very ancient town, situated mostly 
, upon a peninsula, which juts out from the 
coast of Anatolia into the Black Sea. 

It was once far-famed as the capital city 
of Mithridates, King of Pontus, as well as 
the birth place of Diogenes, of whom, per- 
, haps, more people have heard, although he 
was not a Kino-. 
After frequent and honorable mention in very ancient 
history, we, later on, find it, when it fell into the all-con- 
quering Romans' power, the seat of the government of 
the celebrated Pliny, and the remains of the aqueduct 
then built by him are still to be traced in the neighbor- 
hood. 

In 1470 Mohamet II included it in the Turkish Empire, 
of which it has ever since remained a part. 

The modern town has about ten thousand people, and 
presents to the view of one arriving before it by sea the 
peculiar, shabby, picturesque and dilapidated appearance 
of most third-rate Turkish places, where red-tiled roofs 
overhang mouldy, moss-covered, wooden buildings. Here 
and there among the dull red of the roofs rises the bright 
and graceful minaret of a mosque; while in the back- 
ground clumps of the funereal cypress show the spots 
where the faithful lie at rest. Portions of a ruinous, 
turreted wall are to be seen here and there ; but there 



41$ WAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

are no forts or other defences worthy of the name, 
although for years it had been a Turkish "miHtary" port, 
where men-of-war were occasionally built or repaired. 

Perhaps Sinope would never have been heard of in 
modern times, but for a naval action which created an 
unusual sensation throughout both the Christian and 
Moslem worlds, and which alienated from the Russians, 
at the very beginning of the Crimean War, the sympathy 
of many who would otherwise have been favorable to 
their designs. 

The affair about to be narrated was an abuse of supe- 
rior force, at a time when war was inevitable, but had not 
been proclaimed, between Russia and the Ottoman Porte. 

On November 30th, 1853, a Turkish squadron, con- 
sisting of seven frigates, three corvettes, and two 
steamers, were driven, by stress of bad weather. Into the 
anchorage of Sinope. In this, their own port of refuge, 
they were surprised by the arrival of the Russian Vice 
Admiral Nachimoff, with a fleet of two three-decked 
ships, four 74s, three frigates, one transport, and three 
steam-vessels. 

Admiral Nachimoff at once summoned the Turkish 
squadron to surrender to him. But, in spite of the 
immense disproportion in force, the Turkish Admiral 
resolved to resist his demands to the last extremity, and 
to destroy his squadron rather than strike his flag. So 
about midday, in response to a formal summons, he 
opened fire upon the Russians. It seemed almost like 
an act of madness, to which he was goaded by the 
outrageousness of such a demand made upon him before 
war was declared ; but we cannot help admiring his 
desperate courage and determination, even If it was that 
of despair; for he could have had no hope of success 
against such a force as the Russians had. 



SINOPE. 419 

This remarkable action, thus begun, was maintained 
until a full hour after sunset; the termination ot the 
bloody fight being lighted up by the flames of the town 
itself, which had been set on fire by the Russian shells. 

At last the Ottoman squadron was blotted out of exist- 
ence; and not till then did the reports of the guns cease, 
and silence fall upon the waters of the harbor. 

Of the twelve Turkish vessels, eight were sunk out- 
right, at their anchors, by shot. The Captain of the 
Mizamieh, of sixty guns, fought his ship to the last, with 
terrible energy, and at last fired his own magazine, and 
blew the vessel, and most of those who had survived the 
action, to fragments. 

The Captain of the Navik, of 52 guns, followed his 
example, and immediately blew up his vessel. 

The Russian fleet, in spite of their superiority, suffered 
terribly from the desperate defence of the Turks. Several 
of their vessels, completely dismasted, were obliged to 
leave Sinope in tow of steamers; and none of them ever 
did any more service, for after being for a long time 
blockaded in Sebastopol, by the French and English 
fleets, they were sunk in that harbor by the Russians 
themselves. 

Although so much of the town was injured by shot and 
fire, and at least one hundred and fifty of the inhabitants 
were killed or burned, strange to say, a fine fifty-gun 
steam-frigate, upon the stocks, escaped destruction. A 
visitor, soon after the battle, describes the scene as most 
heart-rending and depressing, and expresses wonder 
that more of the towns-people were not killed, as the fields, 
mland, were covered with fragments of the blown up 
ships, exploded shells, bolts, chains, spars and planks. 
An anchor weighing fifteen hundred pounds was blown 
inland more than a quarter of a mile. 



420 



i<JAVAL BAT'lLEii, ANCIENT AUD MODERM 



LISSA, 1866. 




ISSA is an island of the Adriatic, thirty-thre^ 
miles southwest of Spalatro, in Dalmatia. 
In ancient times, four centuries before 
Christ, it was settled by Greeks from 
Lesbos, who named it Issa, from one of the 
names of their own island, in the yEgean. 

During the first Punic war the Isseans, 
already expert seamen, helped the Roman 
Duilius with their beaked ships, and the Great Republic 
of antiquity in return assisted them in resisting ag 
gression. They were again allies against Philip o{ 
Macedon. 

In the year 966 the Venetians were in possession of the 
island, but the Ragusans, from the mainland, drove them 
out, only to return, and to establish firmly the reign of 
the Doges. The principal town was twice entirely 
destroyed, once by the Neapolitans, and once by the 
Turks, and the present city, which rises in an amphithe- 
atrical form from the shores of the principal harbor, only 
dates from the year 1571. During the Napoleonic wars 
the island was occupied by the French, and near it, in 
1 8 10, an important naval action was fought, in which an 
English squadron defeated the French. The English 
then seized and kept possession of the island until the 
grand settlement and apportionment, after the peace of 
181 5, when it became the property of Austria. The 



LISSA. 421 

fortifications erected by the British were only dismantled 
in 1870. The island is fertile, quite mountainous, and a 
conspicuous landmark in the navigation oi the Adriatic. 

In the course of the war between Austria and Italy, 
which terminated in the entire liberation of the latter 
country from the dominion of the hated " Tedeschi," who 
had occupied Venice and the fairest parts of Lombardy 
for so many years, Italy suffered two great defeats. One 
was on land, at Custozza, where their army, though 
unsuccessful, came out with honor, after proofs of courage 
"^d conduct. 

The navy of Italy, then comparatively small and untried, 
was anxious to redeem the Italian honor and arms, by 
meeting the Austrian fleet. Under the auspices of the 
navy a desceat was therefore made upon the Austrian 
island of Lissa. 

On the 1 8th of July, 1866, the island was attacked and 
taken by the fleet under Admiral Persano. But their 
success was short-lived, for the Austrians came down the 
next day, and inflicted the terrible defeat which, for the 
time, completely disorganized the Italian navy. 

This fleet was composed of eleven armored vessels 
{including large and small, and the ram L'Affondatore), 
two frigates, one corvette and three gun-boats, each 
mounting two guns, five despatch vessels, and a few 
smaller craft, hardly fit to enter into action. 

Among the Italian vessels was the large ironclad frigate 
Re d'ltalia, built during our civil war, for the Italian 
Government, by Webb, of New York. This fleet was 
commanded by Admiral Persano, and was in three 
divisions. The first, under the direct orders of Persano 
himself, consisted of eight armored vessels, and some 
other lighter steamers ; the second division, under Vice- 
Admiral Albini, consisted ot six screw frig-ates, un- 

27 a 



422 NAVAL BA'ITLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

armored; the third division, under Rear-Admiral Vacca, 
consisted of three ironclad vessels. 

The Austrian fleet, which came down to seek the 
Italians, and to offer battle, as soon as the news of the 
capture of Lissa was received, consisted of twenty-two 
vessels. Seven of them were armored ; one was a screw 
s:hip-of-the-line, called the Kaiser, of 90 guns; four screw 
f/igates ; four gun-boats ; one corvette ; and a few small 
craft. 

In spite of the fact that the Austrian fleet would, 
undoubtedly, come to dispute their conquest, the Italians 
seem to have been taken rather by surprise, especially as 
Admiral Tegethoff approached rapidly, and engaged very 
promptly. The engagement, being under steam, com- 
menced as soon as the guns of the opposing fleets would 
bear, and was, at first, carried on with great resolution 
on both sides. Very soon after the fight commenced the 
Re d'ltalia, one of the best ships of the Italian fleet, was 
rammed by two Austrian ships, also armored, and 
received fatal injuries, from which she soon sank, carrying 
down many of her crew. 

She had been the flag-ship; but just before she went 
into action Admiral Persano had quitted her, and gone 
on board the iron-clad ram, the Affondatore, without 
notifying the commanding officers of the change, either 
by signal, or otherwise. The acdon was then really 
fought, on the part of the Italians, without a Commander; 
for they received no signals from the ship from which 
they had a right to look for them; and, as the Re d'ltalia 
was soon sunk, many thought that Admiral Persano had 
perished in her. 

The Italian fleet was thus without united action ; and 
their manoeuvres were undecided and weak ; while the 
Austrian fleet concentrated all its efforts under the 



LISSA. 42,3 

strong- impulse of a skillful and very zealous Com- 
mander, whose only thought seemed to be to win or 
perish. In spite of this the Italian ships were most 
bravely fought, and the victory was not either an easy or 
bloodless one. 

Many have thought that, had there been a capable 
Commander, and unity of action, they would have prob- 
ably gained the battle. 

The Italian iron-clad Re di Portogallo, a sister ship of 
the Re d'ltalia, especially distinguished herself by the 
audacity of her movements and the ability with which 
she was handled. She sank two Austrian vessels ; 
having a long engagement with the Kaiser, sinking this 
huge ship by a broadside poured into her, at a distance 
of only a few yards. The Kaiser is said to have carried 
down with her twelve hundred men; several hundred of 
whom were Tyrolese sharp-shooters. 

At half-past four in the afternoon the batde ceased ; 
having lasted for six hours. 

The Italians retired to Ancona, a safe and strongly 
fortified harbor on their coast, nearly opposite to Lissa. 
The Austrian fleet had received such damage and loss 
that they not only were unable to pursue the Italians, but 
were soon obliged to desert the waters of Lissa, and 
return to their naval port, Pola. 

Although this was not a victory for the Austrians, in 
the sense of large captures, they were most distinctly the 
victors, in that the Italians deserted the field. That has 
always been the test of victory, both by land and by sea. 
Before the end of the battle the Italians lost a second 
iron-clad, the Palestro, which blew up, and all on board 
were lost. On the 6th of August, following, the Affonda- 
tore, which had been anchored outside of Ancona, on the 
lookout for the Austrian fleet, was swamped by the heavy 



424 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

sea caused by a sudden storm. She endeavored to take 
refuge inside the mole, but too late. All her crew were 
saved. The whole affair was a dreadful blow to the 
Italian navy, and to their cause ; and was equally instru- 
mental in advancing the morale and reputation of the 
Austrian navy. 

A good deal of light may be thrown upon this event 
by a slight account of the officer responsible for it. 

Admiral Count Charles Persano was born at Vercelli, 
in 1806. He entered the Sardinian navy, and rose 
rapidly to high rank; serving under Admiral Bruat, at 
the bombardment of Odessa, during the Crimean war ; 
and, for the remainder of that struggle, having charge of 
the transportation and provisionment of the Sardinian 
troops which joined the Allies ; a most responsible post. 
In the year 1859, as a Rear- Admiral, he had command 
of the Adriatic squadron of observation, and of the 
blockade of Venice. The next year he commanded the 
fleet at Naples, when Garibaldi seized and turned over 
to him the Neapolitan fleet. Here he acted with great 
judgment, and to the satisfaction of all, in distributing the 
Neapolitan officers among the vessels of the national 
fleet, and in composing difficulties and overcoming obsta- 
cles incident to so sudden and crreat a chanofe in orovern- 
ment. The reputation of no one stood higher than that 
of Persano, for tact, ability, and firmness of purpose. 

In September, i860, upon the invasion of the Marches 
and Umbria, the Admiral was sent off Ancona, where 
he distinguished himself, first in the blockade, and then 
in forcing an entrance and taking possession of that fine 
port. General Lamoriciere declared that he was discom- 
fited not by the land force opposed to him, but by the 
work of the fleet; and it was with Persano that he held 
a parley, and to him he surrendered his sword. During 




Austrian Man of Wae, Ferpinand Max, Ramming thk Italian Ironclad, 
Re D'Italia, at the Battle of Lissa. 



LISSA. 425 

this siege Persano gained great popularity, on account 
of his consideration for the sufferings of the inhabitants. 

For these actions he was made a Vice-Admiral, and 
was elected a deputy, from the city of Spezia, to the 
first ItaHan Padiament, which was convened in 1861. 
When the Itahan navy was constituted he became the 
Admiral ; there being three Vice- Admirals and ten Rear- 
Admirals also appointed. Soon after he became a 
Senator, and Minister of Marine, under Ratazzl. 

No man In Italy was more trusted and honored, and 
few could be said to have had a more successful career. 

In expectation of the approaching struggle with Austria 
for the possession of the Venetian provinces, the Italian 
government had, at immense sacrifices, devoted some 
years to the development of its navy; which, much supe- 
rior to that of Austria, was to secure to the Italian flae 
the dominion of the Adriatic. In the event of war the 
command of the fleet fell naturally to the naval officer of 
highest rank, and so, in March, 1866, Admiral Persano 
was named to the command of the strong fleet collected 
at Tarento. But the results accomplished by this naval 
force fell far below the hopes of those who had conceived 
and formed it. 

Persano began by delaying for a long time the depar- 
ture of his fleet from Tarento. Then, when he did 
enter the Adriatic, he refused, although far superior in 
numbers, and with crews filled with enthusiasm for the 
cause, to accept the battle offered him by the Austrian 
fleet, composed of fourteen ships only ; and he remained 
idle, at Ancona, until July 8th. 

Only upon repeated and decided orders of the Minister 
of Marine did he finally leave port, but then only for a 
few days' cruise in the Adriatic, during which he avoided 
the Austrian fleet and coast. Another formal order was 



426 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

needed, from die highest authority, to force him to leavft 
Ancona again, and to proceed to the Island of Lissa. 
Upon the taking of this island partly depended the success 
of the naval operations in the Adriatic. 

After a rather feeble bombardment of the Austrian 
works, Persano, although he had certain information that 
Admiral Tegethoff was hastening to the relief of Lissa, 
gave the order for landing, and pursuing operations on 
shore. This ill-conceived proceeding of landing a portion 
of his men, at a time when he was liable at any moment 
to be attacked by sea, has been attributed to various 
motives; none of them worthy ones. At any rate, when 
the Austrians did appear, coming down from the north, 
the Italian ships were not ready to meet them, and those 
of the crews who had been landed had to re-embark, in 
haste and confusion. Moreover, in presence of the 
enemy, and while disposidons for battle were actually 
going on, Persano left the Re d'ltalia, his flag-ship, and 
went on board the Affondatore, an inconspicuous and 
untried vessel, built for a ram. His modve in doing so 
was never explained satisfactorily by him, and is left to 
conjecture. By his action he delayed the formadon of the 
line-of-battle, and deprived himself of the ability to direct 
the movements of the fleet, as the officers had not bec:"i 
informed of the change; and, moreover, by his presence, 
prevented the ram from taking the part in the batde for 
which she was designed especially. Such being the state 
of things, it is no wonder that the action, in spite of indi-l 
vidual exertions and gallantry, resulted disastrously for 
the Italians. 

This defeat, or disaster, was so mortifying, and so 
confounded the designs of the Italian government, that 
a storm of public indio-nation was aroused aoainst 
Persano, and the King was forced to order a court of 



LissA. 427 

inquiry upon his actions. It is said that the Admiral 
himself demanded one, but this does not clearly appear. 

The court examined very many witnesses, and the 
proceedings were very much protracted; so that it was 
ihe end of 1S67 before their proceedings were reported 
Lo the Itahan Senate. The Senate then proceeded to 
give judgment. Persano was acquitted of the charge of 
cowardice by a small majority, but he was found guilty 
of disobedience of orders, and negligence in the per- 
formance of duty, by a large majority. The Ministry 
had intended to prosecute him for high treason ; but, for 
some reason, this was abandoned, and he was released 
from arrest, and suffered to slink into retirement and 
obscurity, a disgraced man. 

By a vote of the Senate, he was required to pay the 
expenses of the court of inquiry, which had been very 
heavy, and was dismissed from the navy, and from all 
his other offices. It was generally thought, in Italy, that 
the Senate had been very lenient in thus dealing with 
him ; and that he should have suffered death. 

The whole of the facts of the case are not accessible 
in this country, and perhaps would not be, even in Italy. 

William, Baron Tegethoff, the Austrian Commander at 
the batde of Lissa, was a native of Styria, being born in 
1 02 7. After passing through the Venetian Naval Col- 
lege, he entered the Imperial Navy, in 1S45, and in twelve 
years became a Commander, serving on the coast of 
I^gypt, the Red Sea, the east coast of Africa, and in the 
Mediterranean. After ihis he accompanied the Arch- 
duke Maximilian, as Aid-de-Camp, in his voyaoe to 
Brazil. In 1861 he had command of the Austrian 
squadron in Greece, during the unsettled and exciting 



428 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

period which terminated in Otho's leaving the Greek 
throne. 

During the Schleswig-Holstein War he commanded 
the Austrian squadron in the North Sea ; and, in con- 
junction with some Prussian vessels, fought, with the 
Danish fleet, the spirited and bloody, but inconclusive, 
action of Heligoland. 

For this he was made a Rear-Admiral, from May 9th, 
1864, and two years later, was made Vice- Admiral, for 
the action of Lissa. 

After Maximilian's death, in Mexico, he was deputed 
to proceed to Vera Cruz and obtain the remains of that 
Prince. After three months' delay and considerable 
diplomacy he obtained them, and returned to Trieste, 
in January 1868. In March of that year he was made 
Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy, being then 
only forty-one years of age. 

Tegethoff is looked upon as the creator of the effective 
Austrian Navy, which, before his time, was undisciplined 
and inefficient. At his death, which occurred in 1871, 
from chronic dysentery, contracted in Mexico, the Austrian 
Navy numbered sixteen efficient iron-clad ships, besides 
wooden vessels. 

The Austrian Government has ordered that a ship of 
their Navy shall always bear his name. 



BRAZIL AND PAKAGUAY. 



429 



SOME NAVAL ACTIONS BETWEEN BRAZIL, THE 
ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION AND PARA- 
GUAY. 1865-68. 




HE first naval event of importance in this 
long and deadly struggle (which began, as 
all the later South American wars have 
begun, about a question of boundary), was 
the battle of the Riachuelo. 

The river Parana, the southern boundary 
of Paraguay, enters the river Paraguay 
between the Paraguayan fort of Humaita, 
and the town of Corrientes, in the Argentine Confedera- 
tion; and just below Corrientes is the Riachuelo, which 
has given its name to this battle. 

Riachuelo means a streamlet or brook. The channel 
of the main river is here about five hundred yards wide. 
It is much broader both above and below. The Para- 
guayans had invaded the territory of Entre-Rios, and 
just north of the "streamlet" had established a posidon, 
where they had a strong battery of flying artillery, upon 
the bank of the main river. 

In April, 1865, the first Brazilian naval division ascended 
the river, towards Corrientes. The Brazilian Admiral, 
Tamandare, did not come with them, being occupied in 
Buenos Ayres, as was notorious, in imitating the conduct 
of Nelson at Naples, and of Marc Antony at Alexandria. 
The fleet was under the command of Commandante 



430 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Gomensoro, who was soon afterwards superseded by 
Vice-Admiral Barroso. 

The fleet anchored ahnost in si^ht of Corrientes, on the 
Chaco, or western bank. It consisted of nine steamers, 
all sea-going. They were the Amazonas (flag-ship), ,i 
heavy paddle-ship, of six guns; the Jequitinhonha, Bel- 
monte, Mearim, and Beberibe, each of eight guns; thj 
Paranahyba, of six guns; Iparanga, seven; Iguateme, of 
five, and the Araguay, of three guns, fifty-nine in all. 

Lopez, the President and absolute Dictator of Paraguay, 
determined to try to capture this fleet. 

His soldiers all were devoted to him, and those of the 
higher classes who were not so, he kept under, by a system 
of terrorism worthy of his father's predecessor. Dr. 
Francia. Anything which he determined should be done 
had to be done, or the offender suffered imprisonment 
and torture, followed by death. Driven in this way by 
fear, his officers accomplished wonderful things. He 
seldom conferred upon any one a higher rank than that of 
Captain, and officers of that grade frequently commanded 
regiments and brigades. The men were brave and 
patient, and satisfied with the scantiest food and clothing. 
They despised the Brazilians, many of whom were negroes 
or mulattoes, calling them "cambas" and "macacos" 
— niggers and monkeys. Some of the most wonderful 
instances of daring, devotion, and calm courage were 
exhibited by these bidians during this long war; and 
when it closed, nearly all the men in the country, and 
many of the boys, were dead, killed in battle. 

As an instance of their heroic devotion we may mention 
that of a Paraguayan soldier, solitary and alone, and 
surrounded by overwhelming numbers of armed enemies. 
Being called upon to surrender, he coolly replied, " No 
tengo orden " — I have no orders — and continued to fight 



BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY. 431 

until pinned to the ground by a dozen bayonets. Nor 
was this by any means a soHtary case. 

Having determined to try to capture the BraziHan vessels, 
Lopez adopted in part a plan formed by an English Chief 
Engineer in his fleet. This man had formerly served in 
the Brazilian Navy, and understood them thoroughly. 

Lopez' vessels were to run down with the current and 
reach the Brazilian squadron just at daylight. Each 
Paraguayan vessel was to select her antagonist, run af 
her, and board, with plenty of men, armed with theii 
favorite swords and knives. 

Lopez, who was personally a coward, and who never 
took part in any action himself, thought he had o-reat 
military genius, and would interfere upon this occasion, 
as upon many others. The plan of Watts, the English' 
man, would have caught the Brazilians asleep, and'^with 
their fires banked, so that they could not move. 

Lopez gave instructions for his vessels to run past the 
Brazilians, then turn, come up stream, and board. He 
detailed eight hundred men, in addition to the crews of 
the vessels, as boarders. These he harangued, and told 
them to go and bring him back the fleet and the prisoners 
of the "Cambas.'\ "No!" cried the Paraguayans, in 
reply, "What do we want with prisoners.? We will kill 
them all." 

Lopez smiled, distributed cigars, their one great luxury, 
and sent them away. 

He sent on this expedidon nine steamers, river boats, 
about all^ he had. They were the Tacuari (flag-ship)', 
Paraguari, Igurey, Marquis Olinda (captured early in the 
war), Salto-Oriental, Ipora, Peribebui, Jejui and Ibera. 
These carried thirty-four guns. They were to tow down 
some of the " chatas " or flat-boats used by the Para- 
guayans, which each mounted one heavy gun, and carried 



432 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

a number of men. These boats were very low in the 
water, of light draught, and very hard to hit. 

Pedro Mesa was the Captain of the Paraguayan Navy. 
He was fatj and sick, and old, and had no knowledge 
whatever of naval warfare. He tried to decline the com- 
mand of the expedition, which, as the whole navy was in 
service, naturally fell to him. But Lopez would not 
listen to it, and ordered him on board ; and the instruc- 
tions of Lopez must be obeyed, on peril of death. 

Finally the flotilla got off. But there was much delay 
from defective machinery, and one of the steamers, the 
Ibera, had to be left behind. Owing to this it was broad 
daylight before they came down near the Brazilians, and 
there was consequently no surprise. Mesa carried out 
his orders literally, as it behooved any one to do who 
served Lopez, ani ran past the Brazilians a very consid- 
erable distance, having received their fire as he passed. 
The latter slipped their cables and got under way, so that 
it was ten o'clock in the morninsf before the fleets came 
in contact. In spite ot the bad manceuvre of going down 
the stream first, the fight opened well for the Paraguayans. 
The Jequitinhonha, which carried, among other guns, two 
68-pounders and a Whitworth rifle, grounded, and was 
abandoned, after being well peppered by the Paraguayan 
battery of Bruguez, on the left bank. The Paranahyba 
had her wheel shot away, and was boarded and taken ; 
and the Belmonte, riddled with shot, had to be run on 
shore, to keep her from sinking. 

In this battle the difficulty was for the Paraguayans to 
hold on to the Brazilian vessels after they got alongside 
them, for the latter, being screws, managed to slide away 
from them. Strange to say, grappling irons had been 
forgotten. 

Colonel Thompson says that whenever the Paraguayans 



BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY. 433 

boarded, a. portion of die Brazilian crew would jumr) 
overboard, some of whom were drowned, and some swam 
ashore, all die latter beingf killed as soon as thev landed. 

Burton remarks that the failure to bring grappling irons 
on an expedition where boarding the enemy was to be a 
feature, reminded him of an English attack upon some 
Sikh batteries, where the English engineers forgot to 
bring spikes. 

The Paraguayan launches, which had been towed down 
below the Brazilians, got adrift, and as they could not get 
up again, against the current, were eventually captured. 

At the end of the first period of the action the Brazilians 
had lost three vessels in a very few minutes, and their 
case seemed very doubtful. 

Just then a man of ability came to the front, and saved 
the day. The chief pilot of the Brazilian fleet was the 
son of an Italian emigrant, named Gastavino. This man, 
seeing that the Brazilian commanding officers had entirely 
lost their self possession, and were doing nothing, and 
giving no orders, took matters into his own hands. He 
drove the Amazonas at the Paraguayan fiag-ship, cleared 
her deck with grape, and ran her down. Next he finished 
the Salto and Olinda, in the same manner ; the Amazonas 
being so high out of water that the Paraguayans could 
not board her as she came in contact with them. He 
wound up by sinking the Jejui with his guns. The Mar- 
quis Olinda had previously had a shot in her boilers, and 
almost all her crew were either scalded, or killed or 
wounded by grape. The other Paraguayan vessels, 
Tacuari, Igurey and Salto, also suffered in their boilers, 
and had nearly all their crews killed or wounded. 

During the height of the engagement, the Brazilian 
Paranahyba and the Paraguayan Tacuari fouled. The 
Paraguayans boarded, sword in hand ; at sight of them, 



4-'^4 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

most of the crew of the Paranahyba jumped overboard 
Her decks were filled with the desperate Paraguayans, 
and the other Brazilian vessels were afraid to use their 
guns upon her, for fear of injuring the few of their people 
who were bravely resisting. These few brave men made 
so good a resistance that the Paraguayan commander, 
Mesa, became alarmed for his own safety, and endeavored 
to retire to his cabin. In so doing he was mortally 
wounded by a musket ball. The next officer in command 
to Mesa was hopelessly drunk, and the Brazilians 
succeeded in backing the Paranahyba away, and she 
escaped, after much slaughter. 

The battle lasted eio^ht hours; and at last the four 
remaining Paraguayan steamers slowly and sullenly 
retreated up the stream. 

These must also have been taken or destroyed if Vice- 
Admiral Barroso had done his duty, and pursued with 
vigor. For his very equivocal conduct on this occasion 
he was made a Baron. The pilot, who really fought the 
battle, and saved the day to the Brazilians, was made a 
Lieutenant. 

The English Engineer, Watts, by his ability and good 
conduct secured the retreat of the four Paraguayan 
vessels, it is confidently asserted. For this Lopez gave 
him the lowest order of his Legion of Honor, and, three 
years afterwards, towards the close of the war, he had 
him arrested and shot, as a traitor. 

Mesa died of his wound in a few hours. He would 
have been shot by Lopez, if he had returned unwounded, 
at any rate; and not undeservedly. 

Both sides claimed a victory; but the Brazilians cer- 
tainly had the best of it, and had put a stop to the offen- 
sive campaign of Lopez ; as they could now blockade the 
river above Corrientes, and their presence there compelled 



BRAZIL AND I'ARAGUAY. 435 

the withdrawal of the Paraguayan advance corps in Entre 
Rios, and the evacuation of Uruguayana. Had Lopez' 
squadron been successful he would have had command 
of the whole river, and must have held it until the 
Brazilians got their iron-clads down. 

The Brazilians were unable to raise their sunken 
vessels, being driven off by the flying batteries of Bruguez, 
until such time as they were not worth working at. 

Parts of the crews of the destroyed Paraguayan vessels 
got on shore on the Chaco side of the river. The Brazil- 
ians sent an armed boat to take them off, but the Para- 
guayans killed all the crew, and seized the boat. These 
men were in the desert Chaco for three days and a half, 
without food, and at last, when the Brazilians left the 
river free, crossed over safely to their own side. 

Their desperate devotion was something wonderful. 
The Paraguayan captain of the Olinda was wounded, and 
taken, a prisoner, on board the Amazonas, where he had 
his arm amputated. Rather than remain a prisoner, and 
thus be declared by Lopez a traitor, he tore off the band- 
ages and ligatures, and died. 

On the thirteenth of the month the Brazilian fleet ran 
down the river, past the field batteries at Riachuelo, and 
operations ceased for the time. 

The Brazilian officers confessed that at one time it was 
"touch and go" with them. 

Had the Paraguayans carried grappling irons, and gone 
straight alongside at first, it is altogether probable that 
they would have captured the whole Brazilian fleet. 
But the screw steamers, having been allowed time to 
get up steam, slipped away from their opponents, who 
were inexperienced as watermen, and who were baflled 
by the high sides and boarding- nettings of their man- 
of-war-built enemies. 



4VjG naval battles, ancient and modern. 

It is a curious fact that not one of the Brazilian 120 
and 150-pouTider Whitworth shot hit a Paraguayan 
vessel ; and the Paraguayans only knew that they had them 
by afterwards finding the shot, some of them five miles 
inland. 

A large picture of the Amazonas at the battle of Ria- 
chuelo was exhibited in the Brazilian department of the 
Centennial Exhibition, at Philadelphia. 

the battle of the bank. 

When the land forces of the Allies at last invaded 
Paraguay, they reached the Parana, after some prelim- 
inary skirmishing; and, with 50,000 men, and 100 guns, 
prepared to cross that river, to effect a lodgment on 
Paraguayan soil. Lopez had a force of two or three 
thousand men in observation at Encarnacion, and seeing 
these ready to oppose a crossing, the Allies altered their 
plans, and marched down the Parana, intending to cross 
at Paso la Patria. 

On March 21st, 1866, the Allied fleet came up to 
Corrientes, and anchored, in line-ot-battle, extending from 
Corrales to the mouth of the Paraguay. 

Their fleet was now an imposing one for river warfare. 
They had eighteen steam gun-boats, carrying from six to 
eight guns each, four iron-clad vessels, three with case- 
mates, and one, the Bahia, a monitor, with revolving 
turret, and two 150-pounder Whitworth guns, in all one 
hundred and twenty-five guns. 

Two of the steamers and the ironclad Tamandare were 
sent up the Parana, to reconnoitre, but soon returned, 
after getting on shore and being in some jeopardy. 
There was a work on the right or Paraguayan bank, same 
distance from the confluence, called Itapiru. In the 



BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY. 407 

Allied reports it is designated as a fortress. It was really 
a dilapidated battery, of about tliirty yards internal 
diameter; and at that time armed with one rifled, 12- 
pounder field gun. 

The Parana is here quite deep, except in one place, 
where there was only twelve feet of water in the northern 
channel, and here some scows, loaded with stones, had 
been sunk, which closed that channel. The Paraguayans 
had, at this point, the steamer Gualeguay, armed with two 
1 2-pounders, and two flat-bottomed boats, with an 8-inch 
gun mounted in each. 

On the 2 2d the Gualeguay towed one of these boats 
down half a mile below Itapiru, and moored her close in 
under the right bank. The scow at once opened upon 
the Brazilian fleet, and, in a short time, had put four 
eight-inch shot into the Admiral's ship. 

Three Ironclads were sent up as soon as possible, and 
approached the scow, keeping up an incessant fire. The 
Paraguayans made excellent practice, in the meantime, 
with their eight-inch guns, seldom failing to hit one of 
their opponents. At last the ironclads approached within 
about one hundred yards, and the crew of the scow 
left and took to the woods. The Brazilians then lowered 
and manned three boats, and sent them to take possession 
of the scow and her gun. As they reached her, some 
infantry, numbering about one hundred, who were con- 
cealed in the woods, gave the boats a volley, which killed 
or wounded about half of their crews ; the rest made off 
and returned to their vessels. 

The ironclads then continued to fire at the abandoned 
scow, and at last blew up the magazine, and she sunlc 
The gun was not injured, and was recovered by the 
Paraguayans. 

On the 27th they towed the other gun-boat to the same 

28 a 



438 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

place, and opened upon the Brazilian fleet again, and the 
ironclads renewed the same tactics as before. This time 
the Paraguayans had their boat very close in to the .bank, 
and kept their cartridges on shore, to avoid being blown 
up. Most of their 68-pound shot struck the ironclads, 
but flew in pieces. Some penetrated, however. One 
struck the Tamandare at the edge of a port, broke in 
pieces, and the fragments entered, kilhng every one in 
that part of the casemate, including the first and second 
Captains, three other officers, and eighteen men killed, 
and fifteen wounded. The Tamandare was driven off 
by this shot. The two other ironclads kept up the fire, 
responded to by the Paraguayan musketry from the 
woods, and at nine o'clock at night the Brazilians retired, 
having effected nothing. Next day four ironclads and 
four wooden gun-boats came up to engage this doughty 
Paraguayan 8-pounder. On this day the ironclad Barroso 
got four holes through her plates, and all the rest of them 
were more or less damaged, until, at last, the Paraguayan 
gun was struck, and fairly broken in two. Strange to 
say, not a Paraguayan was hurt. 

On the night of the 29th, these irrepressible people, 
havine recovered the 8-inch grun from the first scow, 
endeavored to brino- a boat from Humaita, to mount it 
upon. Their audacity was such that they towed it, with 
canoes, down the Paraguay to the confluence, and then 
up the Parana, and all this under a bright moonlight. At 
last the Brazilians saw them, before they had reached 
their goal, and the gun-boats steamed up, to capture an 
empty scow. The men had made off, in the canoes, up 
the Parana. 

These Paraguayan gun-boats thus constandy engaged 
the whole Brazilian fleet. But it must be remembered 
that a mere float, of this kind, bearing a gun, was very 



Brazil and Paraguay. 439 

difficult to hit. For a week after this, the steamer Guale- 
guay went out every afternoon, and fired at the BraziHan 
fleet with her two 1 2-pounders. This was done princi- 
pally for Lopez' amusement, and he, at a safe distance, 
had excellent long glasses mounted, with which he watched 
the performances. The Brazilian fleet would dash up 
the water, all about the Gualeguay, with every kind ot 
missile, from a 68 to a 150-pounder, and yet this steam- 
boat never received any damage but one hole in her 
smoke-stack. 

In some of the subsequent bombardments, Lopez would 
take up his quarters in a secure bomb-proof, and receive 
exact reports of every gun fired ; what it had effected, and 
so forth. But he never exposed himself for a moment. 

The Allied ardllery, on the left bank of the Parana, kept 
up a heavy fire upon the post of Itapiru. But there was 
nothing there to receive any damage, the 12-pounder 
being snugly stowed away for an occasion. This con- 
tinued for some time ; until, at last, the Brazilians occupied 
a sand bank, or bar, in the river, opposite Itapiru, and 
mounted eight guns there, with two thousand men in 
trenches. From this point they reopened a fire upon the 
work, which seemed a perfect bugbear to them. 

On the loth of April the Paraguayans attacked this 
bank, or bar; and the naval part of the enterprise consisted 
in their cominof in canoes. 

Nine hundred men were embarked, in divisions of four 
hundred and fifty each ; with a reserve of four hundred 
at Itapiru. It was a dark night, and the canoes, propellecl 
by paddles, arrived at the bank, or bar, at four o'clock in 
the morning. It was a complete surprise; and the Para- 
guayans delivered one volley, and then charged with th^ 
bayonet, taking the trenches. They were soon driven 
out of them again, however, by overwhelming numbers ; 



440 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

retook them, and were again driven out. The Brazilian 
guns opened with canister, and the Paraguayans lost 
heavily from this source. Two hundred of them were 
dismounted cavalrymen, armed only with their swords, 
but they did great execution, charging up to the guns, and 
taking them ; but being again driven off by heavy 
musketry fire. 

As soon as the firing was heard below several gun- 
boats and ironclads came up, and surrounded the island, 
while the garrison was reinforced from the left bank. 

At last the Paraguayans were almost all killed or 
woujided, and those who could move pushed off in their 
cances, some paddling with one arm who had the other 
one wounded. The daylight had appeared, and they were 
forctdd to stem a heavy current, under the fire of the 
Brii/jilian vessels, at close quarters; and yet fifteen 
caiioes got back to their own shore. 

The Paraguayans lost fourteen ofificers killed, and seven 
•jvounded. Of the soldiers three hundred returned, almost 
xll wounded, and they left five hundred men on the bank, 
or bar. Among the prisoners taken by the Brazilians was 
a Lieutenant Romero ; and Lopez forced his wife to write 
a letter disowning him as a traitor to Paraguay, because 
he had allowed himself to be taken alive. 

In this affair the Brazilians lost about a thousand, killed 
and wounded, many more than the whole attacking force. 
The fire of their own steamers destroyed a number of 
these. 

Six Brazilians were afterwards tried for cowardice in 
this engagement, and were shot. 

In February, 1868, the Brazilian iron-clad vessels suc- 
ceeded in passing Humaita, the extensive works above 
the confluence of the rivers, which had so long kept them 
in check. 



BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY. 441 

On the 13th three new monitors had arived from Rio 
Janeiro, and joined their squadron. They were built in 
Rio Janeiro, and had twin screws, with four inches of iron 
on the hull, which was only one foot out of the water, 
when prepared for action in fresh water. They had each 
one revolving turret, six inches thick, with one heavy 
Whitworth gun in each. The circular port for the gun 
was barely larger than the muzzle, and when run out was 
flush with the face of the turret. Elevation and depres- 
sion of a gun so placed was obtained by means of a 
double carriage, which raised or lowered the trunnions. 

On February i8th everything was ready, and at half- 
past three in the morning the Brazilians began to bombard 
the Paraguayan works most furiously. 

The large casemate ironclads, each with a monitor 
lashed alongside, then steamed up to the batteries at 
Humaita. The fire of these batteries was well sustained, 
and true, as the Paraguayan fire had always been, but 
their cast-iron shot flew to pieces on the armor of the 
ironclads, which passed without serious damage. After 
passing the works they continued straight on, past more 
batteries, at Timbo, to Tayi. The batteries at Timbo 
were water batteries, and injured the ironclads more than 
all the others they had passed. In this passage one of 
the Brazilian monitors received no less than one hundred 
and eighty shot; and another one was hit one hundred 
and twenty times. Their plates were dented and bent, 
and the bolts started, but there was little or no loss of 
life on board them. 

If one or two of the Brazilian ironclads had remained 
between Humaita and Timbo, instead of all running by 
the latter place, the works of the former would ha\ e been 
really closely invested ; and as the object of running the 
bai;.v-ries was to cause the surrender of Humaita, the 



4^2 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

movement was to that extent a failure. The Paraguayans 
evacuated their works at their leisure, taking guns and 
stores. 

THE RIVER FIGHT AT TAYI. 

Twice, in the year 1868, the Paraguayans attacked the 
Brazilian monitors lying off Tayi, just above the influx 
of the river Bermejo. 

These desperate attacks showed the most heroic 
bravery and devotion, but were never successful. 

Upon one occasion the iron-clad vessels Lima-Barros 
and Cabral were attacked, and on another the Barroso 
and the monitor Rio Grande. 

After the last attack, in July, the Brazilians threw a 
boom across the stream, which would detain their enemies, 
descending in their canoes, long enough to give time 
for preparation. 

These Paraguayan boats were admirably adapted for 
navigating those waters, where there was a rapid current 
and many sand-bars, constantly shifting, with channels, 
more or less deep, between them. 

The canoes were built so that only a part of the central 
section was borne by the water, and they were conse- 
quently easily turned, while they glided over the water, 
propelled by spoon-shaped paddles. Some of these craft 
were very large, and would carry a cargo of many tons. 

On the first occasion that the ironclads were attacked 
by means of these canoes, an expedition consisting of 
twelve hundred men was organized, under the command 
of a Captain Xenes, and armed with swords and hand- 
grenades only. 

The men were all paraded before Madame Lynch, the 
mistress of Lopez, who, after distributing cigars among 
them, with great condespension, t^^/l them to "go, and 



BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY. 443 

bring me back my ironclads," The men answered her 
with "vivas," and went contentedly off upon their des- 
perate undertaking. 

It was a dark night. The canoes were lashed in pairs, 
with eighteen or twenty ieet of slack rope between each 
pair. By this means they hoped to make sure of board- 
ing, the canoes of each pair swinging round on opposite 
sides of the bows of the Brazilians. 

There were forty-eight canoes, each carrying twenty-fiva 
men. The Lima-Barros and Cabral were in advance of 
the main body, up the stream. Many of the canoes were 
carried past them by the current, into the midst of the 
Brazilian fleet. But about half of them hit the advanced 
vessels, and the Paraguayans sprang on board, unper- 
ceived. The crews were sleeping on the decks, outside, 
and some fifty were at once killed by the boarders. The 
remainder rushed below, and into the turrets, and secured 
the ports and hatches. The Paraguayans attempted to 
throw hand-grenades into the port-holes, and " ran about 
seeking ingress, like a cat attacking a trapped mouse," 
in the meantime loading the Brazilians with all sorts of 
epithets, and daring them to come out and fight with the 
sword, like men. 

The Lima-Barros and Cabral were thus virtually cap- 
tured, but by this time the rest of the fleet were aroused, 
and soon two more ironclads came steaming up to their 
relief. They swept the Paraguayans from the decks with 
grape and canister, and those who were not blown to 
pieces in this manner were obliged to take to the water, 
and swim for life. Very few of them survived to tell the 
tale. 

It is surprising that people so utterly fearless and 
devoted never made very serious attempts to blow up the 
Brazilian ironclads, especially as there were so many ways 



444 



NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



of doing so, and plenty who were ready to attempt it, 
even at the sacrifice of their own Hves. 

The best informed foreigners who were in Paraguay at 
that time thought that they wanted the vessels themselves 
so much that they hesitated to destroy them, hoping that 
an opportunity to board them successfully would occur at 
some time. The same persons thought that if they had 
even had one fairly good ironclad they would have com- 
pletely cleared the river of the Brazilians. On the part of 
Paraguay the war was premature. Lopez had ordered 
armored vessels and rifled guns of heavy calibre in 
Europe, but so late that the war was upon him, and the 
river blockaded, before they could be delivered. 




THE DREADNOUGHT. 

^The most powerful Ironclad of the English Navy.) 



HUASCAi^ 



445 



THE CAPTURE OF THE HUASCAR. OCTOBER 

8th, 1879. 




HIS recent and important action between 
iron-clad vessels, at sea, is remarkable in 
many ways, and Is especially interesting to 
naval men, as armored vessels had, with 
perhaps a single exception, not come 
together before, upon the high seas. 

Fortunately, we have accounts of the 
battle from Lieutenants Mason and Inger- 
soll, of the United States Navy, Clements Markham, 
Lieutenant Madan, R. N., and others — of whose accounts 
this article will be a condensation. 

The action took place in the forenoon, off Mexlllones 
de Bolivia. 

The " Huascar," a Peruvian man-of-war, was of the old 
type of English turret ships, and had been employed 
continuously, at sea, for many months, so that her bottom 
was very foul, while her boilers were not in condition to 
make steam properly. These two causes had very much 
reduced her speed. Her commander, Admiral Grau, 
had wished to overhaul her, but his representations were 
overruled, from considerations of policy, and she was 
despatched to the south, upon what proved to be her last 
cruise under the Peruvian flag. 

When In order, she was known to be much faster than 
the Chilian vesseii^ which she was to encounter, and her 



446 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

loss may fairly be put down to this disregard of profes 
sional advice and warning. 

The Chilian ironclad, '* Almirante Cochrane," her prin- 
cipal opponent, as well as the " Blanco Encalada," which 
participated in the latter part of the action, were nearly 
new casemated vessels ; and their constructor, Mr. Reed, 
had said that they ought to sink the "Huascar" In five 
minutes. 

This latter vessel had done good service in the war/ 
between Peru and Chili, in Interfering with the only 
transportation possible for the Chilians, who were the 
aggressors, and who carried the war into the Peruvian 
boundaries. Her commander, Rear- Admiral Grau, was 
an excellent officer, and rendered himself quite famous by 
his sudden dashes Into Chilian ports, capturing transports 
and lighters, and Interfering with the submarine cable, so 
necessary for the success of the Chilian operations. 

The "Huascar" had made four successful cruises, or 
rather " raids," to the southward. In one of which she had 
captured the " Rimac," a fine steamer, having on board a 
fully-equipped battalion of cavalry and a large amount of 
military stores. Among other curious things which came 
under the latter head was a complete outfit of water-skins, 
which were being sent to the Chilian Army at Antofa- 
gasta, to enable it to carry water. In crossing the desert 
of Atacama, to operate upon the province of Tarapaca. 

This desert had been discovered to contain an Immense 
deposit of nitrate of soda, and the struggle which had 
been Impending for some years between the two nations 
was precipitated by the desire of Chili to possess this 
source of wealth. 

Soon after this success the " Huascar " appeared off the 
harbor of Antofagasta, at night, and with a "Lay" torpedo 
attacked a Chilian wooden corvette Ivlng tii^re, instead 



HUASCAR. 447 

of Striking the enemy's vessel, the torpedo made a half 
circle, and came back upon the "Huascar." A lieutenant 
of the latter vessel, seeing the imminent danger, jumped 
overboard, and swam to meet the torpedo, which was 
moving slowly, and diverted it from its course, saving the 
" Huascar." The name of this lieutenant was Firmin Diaz 
Canseco. 

The next day after this unsuccessful attempt she had 
an engagement with the shore batteries and two corvettes, 
in which she did much damage, and received some 
herself. She, at this time had exchanged a native crew for 
one composed mostly of foreigners, and men trained as 
gunners, who could give a better account of the 300- 
pound shells thrown by her guns. 

In September, 1879, there had been a very considerable 
change in the oiticers of the Chilian squadron, and a 
change of policy, as well. The ** Almirante Cochrane," 
and " Blanco Encalada" (the latter the flag-ship of 
Commodore Riveros), proceeded north, accompanied by 
the wooden corvettes "O'Higglns" and "Covadonga," 
and the armed transports "Loa" and " Mathias Cousino." 
They expected to find the "Huascar" In Arica, but arrived 
there only to find that she had sailed for the south ; and 
they at once returned to Mexillones Bay, where they 
coaled, and awaited instructions and events. 

On the morning of October 5th the " Huascar" appeared 
in the harbor of Coquimbo, in company with the corvette 
"Union." There were a number of foreigfn men-of-war 
lying there, and their officers were much struck by the 
handling of the Peruvian vessels; so quiet, able, anQ 
seamanHke, opposed to the usual noisymanner of carrying 
on duty to be observed in South American men-of-war. 
They did not even blow off steam when slowing down. 

There was correspondiii^' quiet on shore, where were 



448 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN 

batteries armed with the heaviest modern guns ; and thft 
Peruvians were allowed to retire unscathed, after thor- 
oughly searching the harbor. They went out again before 
daylight, but hung about to the southward of the port, 
o-ettinor news, from mail steamers, of the Chilian vessels 
coming to the northward. 

During the next two days they moved up the coast ; 
and Admiral Grau determined to look into Arica, where 
the Chilian squadron was supposed to be. Leaving the 
" Union " on the look-out, the " Huascar " ran in towards 
the anchorage of Antofagasta, at about half-past one, on 
the morning of October 8th. Finding nothing there, she 
ran out, and joined the "Union" again, in about two 
hours. Both vessels now headed north. Soon after they 
made out the smoke of three vessels coming down the 
coast, southward, and about six miles distant. These 
were quickly recognized as vessels of war, and the 
"Huascar's" course was changed, at about 3.30 a. m., to 
southwest. 

The Chilian squadron at Mexillones, having coaled, 
put to sea on the night of the 7th, in two divisions. The 
first division, consisting of the slower vessels, the 
"Blanco," "Covadonga," and "Mathias Cousifio," sailed 
at 10 r. M., and steered down the coast, towards Anto- 
fagasta; the second division, under commander La Farre, 
consisting of the "Cochrane," "O'Higgins," and "Loa," 
sailing on the morning of the 8th, before daylight, with 
orders to cruise twenty-five miles off Point Angamos. 
This was done In consequence of telegraphic Instruction 
from the Chilian authorities. The Commodore had 
intended to move south, along the coast, in similar divi- 
sions, the first skirting the coast, and looking In at the 
bays, while the second kept pace with them, about forty 
miles off shore. 



HUASCAR. 449 

The result was the same, whichever plan had been 
followed. 

At half-past three in the morning of the 8th of Octo- 
ber, the weather being fine and clear, the smoke of two 
vessels approaching, under Point Letas, and distant 
about six miles, was reported from the top of the 
"Blanco." 

At daylight the enemies recognized each other. 

The " Huascar" ran to the southwest for an hour, under 
full speed, making nearly eleven knots; the "Blanco" 
and "Covadono-a" foUowinor and makinof less than eip:ht 
knots. The "Mathias Cousino" was first sent in towards 
Antofagasta, but, later, turned and followed her consorts. 
Riveros, the Chilian Commodore, soon saw that such a 
chase was hopeless; but still, on the chance of an acci- 
dent to the machinery of the " Huascar," or her consort, or 
of their turning to the northv/ard, and being cut off by 
his second division, he determined to continue it. 

The Peruvians could not afford to run any risks with 
their ships. If the "Huascar" was lost, it would entail 
serious consequences to the Peruvian cause; and it was 
therefore proper for Grau to attempt escape. Finding 
that he could outrun his pursuers, he reduced his speed, 
and turned his ships' heads to the northward. Not very 
long after this, smoke was seen to the northwest, and, 
having diverged a little from her course, to reconnoitre, 
the "Huascar" recognized the Chilian "Cochrane," and 
her consorts. At about the same time the "Huascar" 
was seen from the "Cochrane," and the "Loa" was sent 
to reconnoitre. 

Grau had supposed that the "Cochrane" only steamed 
eight knots, and thought he could easily run away from 
her, so he stood toward the "Loa," for a short time. 
Finding, however, that the "Cochrane" was changing hei 



460 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

bearings more rapidly than he had anticipated, he stood 
more to the eastward, and ordered "full speed." 

The "Union," which had been on the "Huascar's" 
port quarter, now, at about 8 a. m., crossed her stern, and 
passed to starboard of her, at full speed. This vessel 
made the best of her way to Arica ; followed, until dark, 
by the Chilian ships "O'Higgins" and "Loa." 

There appears to have been a good deal of criticism 
upon the commanding officers of these three ships — the 
first for not ens^-ao-ino-, and the others for not continuino- 
the pursuit. 

The three ironclads were now comparatively close to 
each other, and Grau saw that his only chance of escape 
lay in his speed. There were but three courses open to 
him. 

First — to turn boldly and meet the "Cochrane," and, 
though inferior in gun power, endeavor to ram or cripple 
her, before the "Blanco" could come up. 

Secondly — to endeavor to escape to the northeast, 
between the " Cochrane " and the shore, trustine to have 
superior speed. 

Thirdly — to turn round and engage, or escape past, 
the "Blanco." 

Grau chose the second course. 

At nine a. m., the " Cochrane " having approached with- 
n about four thousand yards, and it being evident that 
she Qould cross his bows, Grau ordered his crew to quar- 
ters and entered his iron-cased conning tower, where he 
was alone. In going to quarters, on board the " Huas- 
car," an accident took place, in shifting the steering-gear 
from the usual situation to the protected one, in the tur- 
ret chamber, under the conning tower. 

While a make-shift tackle was beine rove the " Huas- 
car" yawed considerably. 



HUASCAR. 451 

At half-past nine, the " Cochrane " being about 300c 
yards distant, the " Huascar " opened fire with her turret 
guns. The second shot ricochetted, and entered the 
"Cochrane's " unarmored bow, doing some damage, but 
not exploding. At this time the Chilian " Blanco" was 
about six miles astern. The " Cochrane " did not answer 
the " Huascar's " two shots ; but stood or until within two 
thousand yards, when she opened firo. The first shot 
penetrated the "Huascar's" armor on the port side, 
entered the turret-chamber, and exploded, set fire to the 
wood-work, killed or wounded twelve men, and jammed 
the wheels on which the turt-et revolved, for the time 
being. The " Huascar" fired a 300-pound Palliser chilled 
shell, and struck the " Cochrane's " side armor, at an 
angle of about thirty degrees. The plate struck was 
six inches thick, and was indented, and scored out to a 
depth of three inches, the bolts started, and the backing 
forced in. 

The " Huascar" soon after stood a little to port, with 
the intention of rammine the " Cochrane," but the latter 
avoided this, by turning an equal amount to port, and 
keeping parallel with her antagonist. 

Five minutes after the " Huascar's " conning tower 
was struck by a shell, which exploded in it, shattered it, 
and blew Admiral Grau to pieces — only one foot and a 
few fragments of his body being found. Grau usually 
directed the movements of his vessel with his head and 
shoulders above the tower, and the shell, therefore, proba- 
bly hit him at about the waist. 

This shot also killed Lieutenant Diego Ferre. the Admi- 
ral's Aid, who was at the fighting wheel, and only sepa- 
rated from the conning tower by a light wooden grating. 
Ferre's death appears to have been caused by concussion, 
as no wounds were found upon his body. This shot also 



45^ NAVAL BATTLES. ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

damag-ed the fighting wheel, and the ship ran off to the 
eastward until the damage was repaired, when she again 
headed to the northward. 

About this time a shell penetrated the armor of the 
turret, which was trained on the port-quarter, in the thick- 
est part, to the left of the port of the right gun. This 
shell killed or disabled most of the two guns' crews. 

Among these were two gun-captains. Englishmen, who 
had been trained on board the gunnery-ship, " Excellent," 
and Commander Carbajal, who had come to inform the 
second in command, Commander Elias Aguirre, that he 
was now in command. 

The left gun was not injured, and relief crews were 
sent to it ; but the firing was very wild. The right gun 
was disabled by the compressor and cap-square being bent. 
At this time Lieutenant Rodriouez, who was looking- out 
of the gun-port, had his head taken off This, in connec- 
tion with the previous casualties, so demoralized the Peru- 
vians that most of the subsequent fighting was done by 
the foreigners of the " Huascar's " ship's company. By 
this time the fire from the Nordenfelt guns and the small 
arms of the Chilians had driven most of the officers and 
men of the " Huascar" down into the ward-room. .Some 
of these were wounded, but the most were merely taking 
refuofe there. 

The " Cochrane " now attempted to ram, coming at 
right angles to her adversary. She missed the " Huas- 
car," oroinof close astern of her, but a shot from one of 
her port-guns pierced the armor of the " Huascar," on 
the starboard quarter, exploding, and doing much dam- 
age — among other things, carrying away the steering 
apparatus. 

The "Huascar" now again headed to the eastward: 
but a shell pierced the armor, abreast of the engine-room. 



HUASCAR. 453 

covering the engine with fragments of all kinds, and kill- 
ing and wounding many persons. Among these were 
Surgeon Tavara, and Mr, Griffiths, the master of the 
English schooner " Coquimbo," captured a few days 
before, and whose crew had been forced to render service 
during the action. 

The relieving tackles, by which the "Huascar" was 
now steered, were not only exposed to shot, but had 
a very bad lead, and the steering was very uncertain, not 
only from that cause, but because Commander Aguirre 
had to command the vessel from one of the look-out hoods 
of the turret, and the word had to be passed clear aft, on 
the lower deck, to the men at the relieving tackles. There 
was, probably, not much real control of the " Huascar " 
after the conning tower was destroyed, Grau killed, and 
the main steerino- wheel disabled. 

o 

The "Cochrane" now again attempted to ram the 
"Huascar," firkig her bow-gun, at two hundred yards, and 
coming on at right angles. She again missed her blow, 
and passed astern. 

It was by this time ten o'clock, and the " Blanco " arrived 
on the scene of action, passing between the "Huascar" 
and the "Cochrane," just as the latter was preparing to 
ram, for the third time. The "Cochrane," to avoid the 
imminent danger in which she was placed by her consort's 
ram, was forced to turn to port, and then to run north- 
ward, increasing her distance to about twelve hundred 
yards. 

The "Huascar" then turned to starboard, and headed 
for the " Blanco," with the intention of ramming her, at 
the same time firing some ineffectual shots at her. The 
"Blanco" sheered to starboard also, and passing close 
imder her stern, poured a broadside into that vulnerable 
part, which killed or wounded all the men at the relieving 

29 'A 



434 NAVAL BAITLES, AiNCIENT AND MODERN. 

tackles, as well as many of tht wounded, and the others 
who had taken refuge in the officers' quarters. The 
wounded were now removed to the coal-bunkers and 
store-rooms; and the "Huascar" stood to the westward. 

On account of a number of shot having passed through 
her smoke-stack, driving down soot, debris of all kinds, 
and smoke into the fire-room, it was impossible to see 
the gauges. In consequence, the water got too low in 
one of the boilers, and the tubes were burned through, 
which caused a great escape of steam; so that the 
Chilians thought they had struck one of the boilers. 

There had been four men stationed at a Gatlinof o-un, 
in the "Huascar's" top, but three were killed, and the 
other driven below, by the fire from the Chilian tops, 
although the "Huascar's" top had a screen of boiler- 
iron. 

About half-past ten the flag-staff, with the "Huascar's" 
colors, was shot away, and for some moments all firing 
ceased, as it was supposed she had surrendered; but a 
Frenchman, who was a loader at one of the guns, went 
aft, and hoisted another flag at her gaff Just then another 
shot penetrated the turret of the "Huascar," killing or 
mortally wounding every man in it, including Commander 
Aofuirre. This shot had such terrible effect that when this 
officer's body was found and identified, all the upper part 
of the head was gone, the lower jaw only remaining. In 
addition his body was most fearfully mutilated. Another 
officer was terribly wounded by this shot. 

The command of the " Huascar " had now devolved 
upon the fourth officer, Lieutenant Pedro Garezon. 
The vessel was almost unmanageable, and on fire in 
several places, but the engines were kept going, and 
an occasional gun fired. 

The " Cochrane " now returned, and again tried to ram» 



HUASCAR. 455 

and was only prevented from doing so by a chance move- 
ment of the " Huascar." 

Both ChiHan ships then followed up the Peruvian, using 
great guns, musketry and machine guns. They were 
both in good condition, although the " Cochrane " had 
been struck on her unarmored stern, and had some ten 
men killed and wounded. 

The " Covadonga " now came up, and joined the other 
Chilian vessels, and Lieutenant Garezon, after a council 
with the surviving officers, determined to sink the 
" Huascar," by opening her valves, and thus deprive his 
enemies of the satisfaction of taking possession of her. 

Chief Engineer McMahon succeeded in partially ac- 
complishing this, by opening the circulating valve of the 
condensers, but to do this he had to stop the engines. 
They were at work on the main injection valve when 
Lieutenant Simpson, of the "Cochrane," who had boarded 
her, interfered with the operation, revolver in hand. 

While this was going on, some of the "Huascar's" 
men waved towels and handkerchiefs, and the Chilians, 
on seeing this, ceased firing, and the " Huascar's " flag 
was then hauled down. 

It was at this moment that Simpson boarded her, and 
then came surgeons and engineers from the Chilians. 

On taking possession they found three or four feet of 
water in the hold. Some of the holes made by projectiles 
in her sides were nearly awash, and in a few minutes 
more the vessel would have sunk. She was also found 
to be on fire in several places, one of which was danger- 
ously near the magazine. Fortunately the sea was smooth. 
The valves were closed, the steam pumps started, and 
the fires extinguished. The wounded and the prisoners 
were then transferred to the Chilian ships. 

The "Huascar's" engines were uninjured, as were three 



450 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

out of her four boilers, and they were able to get her into 
port, at Mexillones, that same afternoon ; and In two 
days, after temporary repairs, she was sent to Valparaiso. 
Here proper plates were found, which had been sent out 
from England for the " O'HIgglns ;" and by the 8th of 
the succeeding December she was in active service again 
under the Chilian flag. 

The scene presented on board the " Huascar," when 
boarded by her captors, was most terrible. Hardly a 
square yard of her upper works had escaped Injury, 
Including her smoke-stack, conning tower, boats, davits, 
mast and chain-plates. Her bulwarks, poop, forecastle 
and hatch-combings were much injured, while her capstan 
was struck and knocked entirely overboard. During the 
latter part of the fight, Indeed, the Peruvian had been 
little more than a floating target for the Chilian's accurate 
fire. 

Eighteen dead bodies were taken out of the cabin, and 
the turret was full of the remain-s of the two sets of o-uns' 
crews. 

The light wood-work, ladders and bulkheads were all 
destroyed. The ships log-book had been destroyed, but 
complete working drawings of the ' Blanco'' and " Coch- 
rane" were found on board, 

The action lasted one hour and a half; and during this 
time the "Huascar" lost her commander and the three 
next senior officers, either killed or disabled, and had 
twenty-eight officers and men killed, and forty-eight 
wounded, out of a crew of about two hundred. 

Nearly every time she was struck the greatest 
temporary damage possible was inflicted, and yet no 
permanent injury was caused. The armor was really a 
disadvantage to her, for It served to explode the enemy's 
projectiles, which only stopped when they struck at the 



HUASCAR. 



457 



very smallest angles. The backing and inner skin only 
served to increase the number of fragments, which were 
driven in with deadly effect. The shell which passed 
through the thin sides of the forecasde did not explode, 
and did but little damage. Each shell which pierced the 
armor exploded, and each explosion set the ship on fire 
in a new place. The Chilian small-arm men and the 
Nordenfelt machine gun drove all the Peruvians off the 
deck, and away from the unprotected guns there. The 
"Cochrane" fired forty-five Palliser shells. The "Blanco" 
fired thirty-one. It is thought that the " Huascar" fired 
about forty projectiles from her turret guns. 

The "Cochrane" was hit three times. The "Blanco" 
was untouched, while the "Huascar" received at least 
sixteen large Palliser shells, besides Nordenfelt bullets 
and shrapnel. The shot-holes in the " Huascar" were so 
jagged and irregular that no ordinary stoppers could be 
of any service. 

The officers who have given us the account of this 
action make a number of practical deductions and sug- 
gestions of great importance, but not necessary to be 
quoted here. 




STEEJ- iUMtEOO BOAT AND POt§- 



458 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 
lULY iiTH, A. D. 




'T would be rather presumptuous for any one 
to attempt at this time to give the real 
causes of the bombardment of Alexandria, 
and of the subsequent operations of the 
British army in Egypt. The Egyptian 
leader, Arabi Pasha, has been tried, and the 
tribunal, while sparing his life, sentenced him 
to be banished to Ceylon, where he is now. 
Nothing definite was made public, however, as to the 
assurances of support and sympathy which he is supposed 
to have had, not only from the Sublime Porte, but from 
other nations. 

Eg)ptian politics may be symbolized by a tangled skein 
which time alone can unravel. Some day it may be 
known whether the ostensible reasons brought a great 
calamity about, or whether secret and less worthy motives 
caused the action of the British ministry, and controlled 
their fleet and army. 

In the summer of 1882 Arabi Pasha, who had complete 
control of the military force of Egypt, although the 
Khedive had not been formally deposed, was strengthen- 
ing the forts about Alexandria, and increasing their 
armament. As he was opposed to English or any 
foreign control In Egypt, England naturally felt alarm 
for the safety of the Suez Canal, which is so vitally 



BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 459 

important for her communications with her great Eastern 
empire, as well as for her general commerce. Admiral 
Sir Beauchamp Seymour, with a powerful squadron of 
the largest ironclads and a number of gun-boats, had been 
ordered to Alexandria, in observation. 

The city of Alexandria, named from its founder, Alex- 
ander the Great, has experienced many vicissitudes. The 
modern city is built on a peninsula, which was formerly 
the Island of Pharos, and on the isthmus connecting" it 
with the mainland. The ancient city was on the main- 
land, where its ruins cover a vast extent of surface. 

Founded nearly three and a half centuries before the 
Christian era, it rose, under the liberal and beneficent 
sway of the Ptolemies, to great eminence as a seat of 
learning, as well as of commerce. Under the Roman 
Empire it continued to be a very splendid and influential 
city, second only to Rome herself, and engrossing the 
lucrative traffic with India. Its library was one of the 
wonders of the world — 400,000 volumes being in the 
Museum, and 300,000 in the temple of Serapis. The 
former was accidentally destroyed by fire during the war 
with Julius Cct\sar; and the latter was burnt by command 
of Caliph Omar, upon the Mohammedan conquest, in the 
year 640. After the discovery by the Portuguese of the 
route to India by the Cape of Good Hope, its commerce 
fell off, and its population dwindled to a few thousands. 
Gradually it revived again, and for a long time has been 
the most important commercial city of the Levant, with a 
very large foreign as well as native population. But, to 
return: On July 6th, 1882, Admiral Seymour sent an 
ultimatwn to Arabi and his council, which had the effect 
of stopping work upon the fortifications for a short time, 
and produced a promise that such work -should not be 
renewed. 



460 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

But on the following night a powerful electric light, on 
board the ironclad Alexandra, of the English squadron, 
disclosed the fact that, under cover of the darkness, guns 
were being mounted on the forts commanding the 
entrance to the great port, or western harbor — there 
being two harbors, one east and one west of the isthmus. 
New guns were placed in position on the north side, also, 
on the peninsula where the Harem, or residence of the 
Khedive is situated, and which forms the protection to 
the main anchorage. Earthworks were also being thrown 
up there by a very large force. 

Seymour telegraphed these facts to the British govern- 
ment, summoned a council of his officers, and made 
preparations for battle. He then sent a demand to the 
Egyptian authorities for the surrender of the forts to 
him within twenty-four hours, with a view to disarma- 
ment, under penalty of bombardment. 

There was a French fleet in the port, which had been 
ordered to take no part in any aggressive measures ; and 
there were also naval vessels of several other nations, 
amonp" which were some of our own, the commanders of 
which had been very active in affording refuge to Ameri- 
cans resident in Egypt, as well as to citizens of other 
countries who were not represented by men-of-war. 

The French fleet, seeing hostilities imminent, got under 
way, and steamed out into the offing, followed by the 
other foreign men-of-war and merchant vessels. Many 
of these were crowded with refugees, but there were left 
in the city a large number of Greeks, Italians, Maltese, and 
Syrians. 

The British ships then proceeded to take up their 
stations before the forts, and a panic ensued among the 
inhabitants, who quitted the city, as did most of the 
Europeans who had remained. This they effected with 



BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 461 

great difficulty, and there was a prospect of the renewal 
of the massacre which had taken place some weeks 
before. The cash chest of the European Director of 
Customs, which were managed for the benefit of the 
foreign bondholders, was seized by Arabi, but the officials 
managed to get away. 

On the loth of July a deputation of Egyptian notables 
came off to the English flag-ship, to know the meaning 
of these warlike preparations. They had not heard of 
the ultimatum, which had not reached them, by some 
blunder, whether on the part of the English or the natives 
does not appear ; and, indeed, the document was brought 
off to them while they were still on board the ship, by 
messengers who had been searching for them. They 
then went on shore, to consider it. 

Very early next morning, the i ith of July, a deputation 
of Egyptian officials came off to say that they were willing 
to dismount the guns of the forts themselves. This would 
appear to be all that the English Admiral had originally 
demanded; but whether he suspected a ruse, or whether 
he was determined to take offensive measures at anv 
rate, he refused to entertain the proposal, saying that the 
time for negotiation had expired. 

At seven in the morning the first shot was fired from 
the Alexandra, and eight English ironclads, of the heaviest 
description, with five heavy gun-boats, opened upon the 
different forts. These were the heaviest guns and the 
thickest armor, by far, that had ever been in action. To 
mendon only one, the Inflexible had four 8i-ton guns, 
and armor from sixteen to twenty-four inches thick, 
and measures 11,400 tons. 

The Egypdan forts consdtuted two distmct systems of 
defence. The first consisted of those which protected 
the new port and eastern town ; and the second those 



462 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

which covered the entrances to the outer western harbor. 
Seymour divided his fleet so as to simultaneously bom- 
bard the whole. His ironclads and wooden gun-boats 
were fitted, in addition to heavy guns, with torpedoes, and 
Nordenfelt and Gatlinof machine cruns. 

The Invincible (flag-ship), Monarch and Penelope, with 
the Temeraire outside, took up a position at the entrance 
of the western harbor, about opposite Fort Meks, and 
about twelve hundred yards from another important 
work. Fort Marsa-el-Kanat. 

They attacked these forts, on the shore of the mainland, 
while the Superb, Sultan, and Alexandra attacked and 
totally destroyed the lighthouse fort, and another near it 
on the peninsula. The Inflexible took up a position 
between the two divisions, and with her enormous guns, 
assisted in the work of both. 

The gun-boats attacked the "Marabout" batteries, at the 
entrance of the harbor, running; close in, and soon silencing 
them. One of the gun-boats afterwards covered a landing 
party, which blew up the heavy guns in Fort Meks. 

The Egyptian artillerists surprised the English by the 
determination with which they fought their guns ; but 
they were all silenced by four o'clock in the afternoon— 
rather a long time, it would seem, for vessels carrying 
guns of such power, if they were properly pointed. By 
this time four of the forts had been blown up, and the 
Khedive's palace and harem was in flames. The English 
fire ceased about half-past five in the afternoon. 

The casualties of the English were five killed and 
twenty-eight wounded. This is rather a high number, 
considering the character of the vessels employed. The 
Egyptians seemed to have fired only solid shot, and these, 
in some cases, entered the ships, and caused most of the 
injuries by splinters. 



BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 463 

The Egyptian loss was great, but will probably never 
be known. It is said that the gunners in the forts were 
mostly blacks — Soudanese — who are as remarkable for 
their bravery and bull-dog tenacity, as they are for the 
very dark color of their skin. 

The English are reported to have burst the guns in the 
ruined forts with dynamite. 

Fort Napoleon, a very strong work, somewhat Inland, 
and dating from the French occupation, and FortGabarrie, 
had not been thoroughly bombarded on the first day, and 
still held out ; and arrangements were made to have the 
Invincible, Monarch and Penelope go in the next day to 
attack them. In the meantime the Invincible had '^ilenced 
some outlying batteries, and had sent on shore a party 
which had burst nine large guns. During the night the 
Egyptians had repaired an outside battery, but when the 
inflexible and the Temeraire opened on it, it did not reply, 
and was found to be abandoned. On the mornine after 
the bombardment the Khedive's palace was still bi'.rning, 
and there were other fires in the town. 

The wind had risen, and a swell was coming ir, which 
prevented accurate firing, and at one p. m. all fire ceased, 
on both sides, having not, of course, been so sustained 
and continuous as on- the preceding day. A white flag 
was now shown in the town, and a gun-boat was sent up 
the inner harbor to the Arsenal, with a flag of truce flying. 
The Arsenal is the official residence of the Ministers of 
War and Marine, but the gun-boat found no one there, 
In authority, and no one, in consequence, able to tell the 
meaning of the white flag flying In the city. The oflicer 
sent up, therefore returned to Seymour. Night now drew 
on, and the fires In the town were evidently extending. 

At daybreak, next morning, the whole of the forts 
v/ere found to be abandoned, and the English Admiral 



464 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

telegraphed to the fleet not to open fire. Half the city 
appeared to be In flames, with a dense cloud of smoke 
hanging over it. The conflagration was, in fact, tremen- 
dous, and involved the whole European quarter and the 
Grand Square. The Egyptian army had retreated. 

Towards morning a body of about one hundred 
Europeans fought their way down to the beach, and were 
taken off by armed boats from the fleet. They had spent 
a terrible night, defending themselves in the building of 
the Ottoman Bank, and other buildings adjacent. During 
the night hundreds of people were massacred, mostly 
Christians, and for the two succeeding days Alexandria 
was the scene of horrors hardly equalled by Paris during 
the Commune. 

An uncontrolled soldiery, released convicts and the 
scum of the population were let loose, and murder and 
pillage went on. Petroleum was used to fire many 
buildings In the best part of this fine and flourishing city. 

The Khedive was helpless, and really In great danger 
of his life, in his palace at Ramleh. 

Seymour and his officers and men looked on at " this 
sad spectacle of awful and unexpected catastrophe, which 
they had no power to prevent." 

It is hard to tell whether to blame most the want of 
statesmanlike forethought, or the want of military per- 
ception in the English naval Commander, who precipi- 
tated this dreadful state of affairs, without having the 
means. In the shape of troops, to land and seize the 
town. 

To disinterested observers It was an Indefensible 
act, to bombard a city with such a mixed population, 
many of whom were prone to rapine and murder, without 
having the power promptly to put things in order. 

The English Government seems to have thought 



BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 465 

Admiral Seymour's conduct good, for they have just 
made hnii a Baron. 

The sailors and marines of the fleet were landed as 
soon as it was ascertained that Arabi's forces had 
retreated. These were joined by detachments from the 
German and American men-of-war, for the puruose of 
protecting their consulates, in the first place, and then they 
assisted in extinguishing fires, seizing marauders, and 
rescuing many terror-stricken people from the most 
imminent danger; patrolling the streets, and assisting, in 
every way, to restore order. 

As regards the bombardment itself, it may be said that 
the Egyptian batteries were served steadily and rapidly; 
and their aim was good. The oflhcers appear to have 
set a good example to their men, appearing often upon 
the parapet, to watch the effect of their shot. All the 
batteries facing the sea were destroyed by the heavy 
guns opposed to them, and their guns dismounted. An 
explosion of a magazine, in one fort, is said to have 
killed all of the earrison. The faces of the batteries were 
pulverized, and large holes were made in the masonry 
of the lighthouse, and the large stone fort adjoining was 
reduced to ruin, and all its guns dismounted. The loss 
of life in the garrisons of these forts must have been 
frightful. The harem palace was damaged extensively by 
shell and by fire. 

The Arab quarter behind Fort Pharos caught all the 
shell which missed the batteries ; and here all was chaos 
and destruction. 

Of the English ships, the Penelope was struck five 
times, and had eight men wounded, and one gun disabled. 
The Invincible was struck many times, and six shots 
penetrated. She had six wounded, and some spars shot 
away. The Monarch, which kept under way, was not hit. 



466 



WAVAL RATTLES. ANCIENT AND MODERN, 



The Superb had her funnel injured, and plates damao-ed. 
The Alexandra suffered sliorht damao-e in her hull. The 

o o 

Sultan had her main-mast and funnel shot through, and 
her hull pierced several times in the unarmored part. 
Two of the 1 8-ton guns of the Alexandra were disabled 
by shot, which passed in at the port-holes. 




THB ALEXANDRA. 1877. 

(Ironclad, English Navy. Her appearance after being launched.^ 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN, 



467 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 

The Opening of Japan to Foreign Nations. 




E may well be proud of the fact that 
our country was the first to open 
the empire of Japan to the free in- 
tercourse which, in common with the 
rest of the world, we now enjoy with 
that formerly mysterious country. In 
former years the Dutch, Portuguese, 
English, and others had a limited inter- 
course with the Japanese, but were cut off from that, and, 
with the exception of the Dutch, entirely expelled from 
the country two centuries and a half ago. The Dutch 
alone, of all Christian nations, were allowed to remain 
for the purposes of traffic, "and they purchased the 
privilege at the price of national humiliation and per- 
sonal imprisonment, for which all the profits of gainful 
barter offer but an inadequate compensation," 

This self-isolated empire, Japan, has experienced more 
radical and startling changres within the last oreneration 
than any people or nation of which history treats. It 
seemed as if, once freed from the trammels which had so 
long confined it, the empire was determined, at one 
bound, to place itself abreast of other nations which had 
attained a high civilization and enlightenment by slow 
and painful steps. With a wealth of the best models 



4P? NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

before them, and the intehigence to be able to throw off 
their prejudices and avail themselves of those models, 
ihe feat was easier, but still remains wonderful, the more 
we consider it. 

Situated at the eastern extremity of x'\sia, between 31° 
ftnd 49° north latitude, the empire consists of a large 
group of islands, many of them small and surrounded 
by a sea which is not very easy to navigate at all times. 

There are three very large islands — Niphon, or Nip- 
pon, seven hundred miles long, but so narrow that its 
breadth in the centre is not more than fifty miles ; Kiu- 
siu, about two hundred miles long and fifty miles wide ; 
and Yesso, formerly sometimes called Xicoco, eighty-five 
or ninety miles long and fifty wide. 

There are many mountains, some of them volcanic, 
and the country is subject to earthquakes, often of a 
serious character. 

The number of inhabitants is given as about forty 
millions; but it is said by late observers that, dense as 
the population appears to be in certain regions, the 
country could support many more. 

The Japanese appear to be a mixture of the Malay 
and Mongolian races, like the Chinese, from whom there 
seems little doubt they derived their civilization, ages ago. 

The first knowledge of Japan which the Western 
world had was given by the Venetian traveller, Marco 
Polo, at the end of the thirteenth century. When he 
returned from a long sojourn in Asia he was hardly 
believed when he spoke of a large island off the coast of 
Cathay, or China, which he called Zipangu. That island 
is the modern Nippon. 

There is no doubt that Marco Polo's written story and 
accompanying maps had much to do with the determina- 
tion of Columbus to find the farthest east by sailing 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 469 

west. Although he was not able to find and open Japan, he 
did discover a country which has performed a part of his 
contemplated work — a nation which, if it did not discover 
Zipangu, was to become the instrument of bringing it 
into free and full communication with the rest of the 
world. 

It is to the Portuguese that we owe the first real 
knowledge of Japan. When Mendez Pinto, on a voyage 
to China in 1542, was driven by a storm to Japan and 
landed there, the event was considered so important by 
the authorities of that isolated country that they not only 
entered it in their archives, but preserved portraits of 
persons who seemed most strange to them in complex- 
ion, features, dress, and language. 

The authorities and the visitors were so much pleased 
with each other that an arrangement was entered into 
by which a Portuguese ship was to be yearly despatched — 
probably from Macao — laden with articles of trade. The 
returns were made in gold, silver, and copper, of which 
latter metal there was abundance in Japan. 

Then came the establishment of a mission under Fran- 
cis Xavier, afterwards canonized by the Catholic Church, 
and a man of wonderful ability and with all the requisites 
for a Christian missionary of his time. He and his as- 
sistants did not meddle with Japanese affairs or politics, 
soon made friends, and many converts ; but St. Francis 
Xavier died in 1552, and his successors were not so wise 
or so Christian-like as he had been. They differed 
among themselves and meddled with matters which did 
not concern them. The Franciscans and Dominicans 
quarrelled with the Jesuits, but they obtained, among 
them, a very large number of converts, among whom 
were numbered some of the princes or feudal lords. 

The Dutch came next in establishing a footing in 

3oa 



470 NAVAL RATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Japan, about 1 598. One of their first vessels had an 
EngHsh pilot named William Adams, who has left us a 
narration of his long residence there — a romantic story^ 
but which can only be alluded to here. He arose to high 
distinction, and, among other things, instructed the 
Japanese in the art of ship-building and mathematics. 

An English factory was established at Hirado in 161 3' 
but the enterprise was soon abandoned. 

All went well with the Portuq^uese until about the 
year 161 7, when a revolution occurred in Japan which 
placed in power those who were hostile to both foreign 
traders and to missionaries. This revolution had a fatal 
effect upon the Portuguese influence, especially as they 
had, as has been said, showed imprudence in mingling in 
the politics of the country,while their ambassador exhibited 
great pride and haughtiness, in marked contrast with the 
Dutch. The latter, attending strictly to their mercantile 
transactions and moved by hatred and jealousy of their 
rivals, the Portuguese, took good care to give the assur- 
ance that they themselves were of a different creed from 
the Jesuits. 

When, therefore, in 1637, the Portuguese — traders, 
missionaries, and all — were banished from the country, 
after many persecutions and much bloodshed, the Dutch 
were allowed to keep up an intercourse, but under 
severe restrictions. 

Once rid of the Portuguese, there then began a perse- 
cution of the native Christians, which continued for main- 
years, during which it is said that several millions suf- 
fered for their faith. The number sounds large, but all 
accounts agree in regard to it. 

Then the Dutch fell under suspicion, for several 
good reasons, and were only permitted to remain at all 
on condition of residing at one spot, where they could 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 471 

be guarded anci every motion observed. In 1641 they 
were ordered to remove to Dezima, a small island near 
Nagasaki, which Ka^mpfer said " was more like a prison 
than a factory." But, unwilling to quit the prospect of 
profitable trade, they willingly underwent this imprison- 
ment and agreed to forego any of the outward signs of 
Christianity, such as leaving off divine service, etc. 

The island Dezima is shaped like a fan, and is very 
small, only about six hundred by two hundred and fifty 
feet, and mostly of artificial construction. It was con- 
nected with the town of Nagasaki by a bridge, on 
which there was always a strong guard. The whole 
island was surrounded by a high fence with iron spikes. 
No stone houses were permitted to be built, and the 
interpreters, clerks, and servants were spies, whom the 
Dutch were obliged to pay. The few ships allowed to 
come annually were searched and their .arms and powder 
taken away. "A more annoying and thorough system 
of imprisonment and espionage was never devised." 

Although subject to this oppression "and contumely, 
the Dutch continued their trade — one or two ships going 
from Batavia every year — until Japan was thrown open 
to the world by means of the action of the American 
expedition of 1853. But before speaking of that ex- 
pedition we must allude to the idea which has been ex- 
tensively entertained that there were formerly, and until 
quite recently, two Emperors at the same time in Japan. 
This erroneous idea was conceived in this way. About 
the year 1 200, of our era, the then Emperor created a 
supreme general, called Shogun. Each Shogun owed 
allegiance to the Emperor, and was invested by him, but 
his position as supreme head of the military organi- 
zation, which gave him immense influence with the power- 
ful nobles or feudal lords, made him almost the equal of 



472 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the sovereign. Several years after Japan had been 
opened to the world and treaties made with many nations, 
in 1868, the Shogun's power was shattered during a war 
which might be denominated a revolution. Military 
domination was swept away and the Mikado reinstated 
in his position of supreme authority. In that year the 
powerful Tokugawa clan, and others who supported the 
Shogun, were overcome by the great clans of Satsuma, 
Choshin, and Tosa, and a powerful northern opposition 
was put down by the Mikado's forces. 

It is a curious fact that the Stonewall Jackson, an 
ironclad, took part in this war. She had been built in 
France for the Confederates, taken to Havana, and then 
claimed by our government as a spoil of war. She was 
sold by the United States to Japan, and taken out there 
and delivered by one of our naval officers. 

And now to relate some of the events in Japan in which 
our country was most concerned. 

In 1 83 1 our first eftbrt at intercourse began. A 
Japanesejunk which had been blown off their coast had 
drifted about the Pacific for a long time, and at length 
went ashore near the mouth of the Columbia River, 
Her crew were kindly treated and sent to China, whence 
they were sent, on board an American merchant ship, 
the Morrison, to Japan. People were not then aware 
of a Japanese law^ which prohibited the return of any 
Japanese who had left their country. At any rate, it was 
an errand of mercy. When the Morrison entered Jeddo 
Bay the Japanese, finding she was unarmed, fired at her 
with shotted cruns, and she was forced to o-q to Kaofosima. 
Meeting the same reception there, she returned to 
Macao with the shipwrecked Japanese on board. 

Complaints having multiplied that American seamen 
wrecked on the coast of Japan had been harshly treated 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 473 

by the authorities of that country — which was very true, 
for the writer was a shipmate of one who had been so 
treated, and often talked with him of his adventures — 
our government was anxious to make a treaty which would 
provide that such unfortunates should be kindly treated, 
and also that American vessels in distress should be able 
to enter Japanese ports for needed supplies. So Com- 
modore Biddle, with the Columbus, of 90 guns, and the 
sloop-of-war Vincennes, of 20 guns, entered the Bay of 
Jeddo, in 1846. The ships were at once surrounded by 
guard boats — four hundred of them. The ships re- 
mained ten days, but no one belonging to them landed, 
and an application for license to trade was met by the 
answer : " No trade can be allowed with any foreign nation 
but Holland." 

The next attempt was in 1849, when the United States 
sloop-of-war Preble, Commander Glynn, was sent to 
inquire as to the detention in Japan of sixteen American 
seamen who had been shipwrecked on the coast of the 
islands. As the Preble approached Nagasaki harbor 
she was surrounded by boats and warned off. But the 
ship stood in with a fair breeze, and anchored in spite of 
them. Troops were hurriedly gathered and heavy batteries 
erected on the elevated shores, all bearing upon the ship. 
But Commander Glynn persisted, in spite of threats and 
subterfuge, demanding the prisoners and saying that the 
government meant to protect its citizens and means would 
be at hand to enforce its demands. Afterwards he sent 
word that the men must be delivered to him in two days' 
time ; and then the Japanese, finding him in earnest, gave 
them up. They had been very cruelly treated. Other 
attempts than those we have mentioned were made at 
different times, without success, by other nations, the 
English and the Russians especially. 



47-4 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Commodore Perry's successful expedition left the United 
States in November,i852, several vessels intending to join 
it being already in Chinese ports. 

It was well known that our government contemplated 
such an expedition, and it had been the subject of much 
comment in several European countries more immediately 
concerned. The general opinion was that the mission 
would, like the many others which had been attempted by 
various powers, prove fruitless, from the prejudices and 
obstinacy of the Japanese. But they did not reckon upon 
the great tact, skill, and firmness which were to be 
displayed in the accomplishment of this difficult task. 
The President's letter was presented on July 14th, 1853, 
when the squadron left with a promise to return next 
season for an answer. On March 31st, 1854, a treaty of 
peace and amity, providing especially for the protection 
of American sailors, was signed. 

In June, 1857, a new treaty was made at Simoda, by 
Townsend Harris, American Consul-General to Japan, 
who succeeded in the next year in reaching Jeddo in 
spite of opposition, where he negotiated a third treaty, 
covering many more points than the first ones. 

Other nations soon followed us in making treaties, until 
Japan was in full intercourse with the world at large. 

It is impossible, here, to give more tlian a sketch of 
the many interesting incidents of Perry's first visit, but 
we will endeavor to give a few points. 

On the 7th of July, 1853, the Susquehanna and the 
Mississippi, paddle-wheel frigates, with the Plymouth and 
the Saratoga, sloops-of-war, entered the Bay of Yedo, 
the sailing sloops-of-war being in tow of the steamers, 
and the crews of the junks which were overhauled showed 
every evidence of surprise at the sight of the first steam- 
ships they had ever seen, taking to their oars and sweeps 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 475 

and hastily getting out of their course. At 5 o'clock in 
the afternoon the squadron anchored off the city of 
Uraga, and from their position distinctly saw the sacred 
mountain, Fusiyama, although it was at a distance of 
about sixty miles. Previous to anchoring a number of 
guard boats were observed coming off, and, contrary to 
the practice permitted during the visit of the Colum- 
bus, the Commodore determined to exclude casual 
visitors, so that they were not permitted even to 
make fast their boats to the ships, much less to 
come on board — a proceeding which seemed to anger 
the Japanese officials, but had a good effect in the end. 
Soon after an official came, to warn the ships off, and he 
made signs to have the gangway ladder of the flag-ship 
lowered for him. But the interpreter told him that the 
Commodore was a very high officer of his government, 
and that he would receive no one but a functionary of the 
highest rank, and was asked why the Governor himself 
did not come o^. He replied that he was forbidden by 
law to do so, and asked that he (the speaker, who was 
Vice-Governor,) should be received. After some delay 
this was done, but he only saw the Commodore's aide, 
who told him that the Commodore's intentions were per- 
fectly friendly, and that he brought a letter from the 
President of the United States addressed to the Emperor. 
The Japanese official insisted that the ships must go to 
Nagasaki and there deliver the letter, as that was the 
only place, under their law, for the transaction of business 
with foreigners. He was told that the Commodore would 
not go to Nagasaki, but expected to be duly and prop- 
erly received where he was, near Yedo, and intimated 
that force might be used to deliver the message with 
which he was charged. He was prepared to meet the 
Japanese on their own ground and imitate their own 



476 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

policy. The result was that the squadron was left free 
from all annoyance, an event unprecedented in the inter- 
course of Japan with foreign ships for two centuries. 

IxSere were a good many forts and batteries to be seen 
on the shore, however, and every precaution was taken 
against a sudden attack, especially as bodies of soldiers 
could be seen moving about. But the next day the Gov- 
ernor of the city appeared and came on board. Being an 
official of the third rank, however, the Commodore would 
not personally meet him. The Governor still insisted upon 
the ships leaving there and going to Nagasaki, and was 
again told that they would deliver the letter there, as the 
nearest point to the capital. At a later interview he was 
informed that unless an answer was given in three days, 
and the business which had brought the squadron there 
was arranged at the present visit, the Commodore would 
be obliged to return with a larger force, and, as Uraga 
was an unsafe anchorage, he should go much nearer to 
Yedo. 

It would take many pages to give all the arguments for 
delay offered by the Japanese ; but the firmness of Perry, 
who had not been personally seen — as too exalted a 
person — at last gained the day. The Emperor consented 
to have a meeting of high officers deputized by him and 
Commodore Perry in a house built for the purpose, on 
shore, where the letters could be formally exchanged. 
All the officers of the squadron who could be spared 
accompanied the Commodore, in full uniform, and a large 
force of marines and sailors, under arms, formed a guard 
of honor. The United States flag and the Commodore's 
pennant were borne in front by two stalwart seamen, and 
two boys, appropriately dressed, bore, in an envelope of 
scarlet cloth, the President's letter and the Commodore's 
credentials. 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. -477 

After long ceremonial conversations, everything was 
settled pleasantly, and an answer promised upon the re- 
turn of the squadron the next spring. 

On the 1 2th of the following February, Perry returned 
for his answer. The Japanese were quite friendly, and 
the squadron, of three steamers and four sailing men- 
of-war, anchored about twelve miles beyond the town of 
Uraga and about twenty miles from the capital city, 
Yedo. Even then the Japanese tried to change the place 
ot meeting, but without success, for the Americans per- 
sisjied in having it at that place, which is now known as 
Yokohama. Here a fine building was erected as a 
"Treaty House," and, on the 8th of March, 1854, Perry 
landed in state for the second time, and on that and the 
following days conferences were held and handsome 
presents interchanged. Among arms, implements, wines, 
and other things, was a small locomotive and tender, with 
a passenger car. and enough rails to form a track. The 
Japanese Government sent to the President a great quan- 
tity of things peculiar to the country, and all ended in a 
good understanding and the granting of the demands of 
the American Government. 

Thus, not within the lifetime, but within the naval life- 
time of the writer, has a nation emerged from complete 
isolation and become so powerful as to challenge and 
successfully meet in battle a neighboring nation, some of 
the provinces of which contain as many inhabitants as 
the whole of Japan. 

No matter what may be the result of the war which is 
now going on, it is certain that none of the great West- 
ern nations which have hitherto controlled, more or less 
directly, the course of events in the extreme East, will in 
future venture to take political steps without reckoning 
Japan as a first-class power. Her resources, military and 



478 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

naval, are present, while those of the Western nations 
must be transported halfway round the world to reach 
them. 

Before war was actually proclaimed the ships of China 
and Japan had two or three conflicts on the Korean 
coast, one of which involved quite a battle, and the 
destruction of a small Chinese cruiser which was protect- 
ing the landing of Chinese troops, from transports, on 
the coast of Korea, The second was the sinking of the 
Kow-Shing, which steamer, in spite of her Chinese name, 
was an English vessel, and one of the fastest and best 
employed in the Chinese coast trade. 

When the news of the sinkincr of the Kow-Shinof, 
which took place on the 25th of July,. first appeared, 
there was great bluster in the English papers about 
holding Japan responsible; but, when the true facts 
came to light all this talk quickly died away, as it was 
clearly seen that the Japanese were within their own 
right in preventing the landing of their enemy's troops 
in Korea. Of their merciless treatment of the Chiy ^se 
when struggling in the water a difference of opinion .lay 
probably be held. 

The " Kow-Shinof incident " was as follows : — This 
vessel, of about 1400 tons, had a crew of Chinese, but 
the captain, the three mates, and three engineers were 
Englishmen. She was chartered by the Chinese govern- 
ment, by the monih, for military purposes. Toward the 
end of July she took on board twelve hundred Chinese 
troops, with two generals, and their body-guards, of 
about one hundred and fifty men. 

War was not formally declared, but two other Chinese 
troop ships trying to land men, and under escort of 
men-of-war, accomplished their purpose, but an action 
succeeded between the convoying vessels and some 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. "^''9 

Japanese cruisers, in which one of the Chinese ships 
suffered great loss, and was set on fire. Her com- 
mander ran her on shore, where she shortly blew 

The Japanese succeeded In intercepting the Kow- 
Shing, and determined to force her to return without 
landing the troops she had on board. 

But one of the Chinese cruisers, the Tsi-Yuen, 
accompanying the two which had landed troops, observing 
the Japanese cruiser Nanivva taking note of the opera- 
tion, is said to have approached the Naniwa with the 
Japanese flag flying and suddenly opened fire upon her, 
as evidence of which an officer of the Kow-Shinof vi^as 
shown a shell, which happily did not explode, in the 
ward-room of the Naniwa. " What happened after- 
wards was probably done, at least in part, as retaliation 
for this act of ficrhtino- under false colors." 

On July 25th at 8 o'clock in the morning, the Kow- 
Shing, with the Chinese troops on board, sighted the 
Naniwa, which signalled her to stop and then to anchor; 
she did so, and then signalled "Can we proceed?" As 
an answer to this the Japanese cruiser sent a boat, with 
an armed crew and two officers, who proceeded to the 
captain's cabin, where they examined the ship's papers. 
They were told that the Kow-Shing was a British 
steamer, with the British Consul's clearance, flying the 
British flag, and that war had not been declared when 
she left port. 

Major Von Hanneken, the German officer in "Chinese 
employ, told the Chinese generals what had passed, and 
the latter said they had rather die where they were, and 
said that if the British officers attempted to leave the 
Kow-Shing they would be killed by their body-guard. 
The English captain tried his hardest to show them how 



480 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

useless it was to resist the Nanivva, but without success. 
By this time the boat had returned to the Naniwa, and 
the latter signalled, " weigh, cut or slip, wait for nothing" 
meaning that the English captain was to carry his ship 
back to the place whence she had come, and not attempt 
to land the generals and their troops in Korea. If they 
had obeyed the order there would have been no loss of 
property or life. But the Chinese would not allow the 
captain to move, and threatened death again if he did so. 
The Nanivva then steamed abeam of the Kow-Shing, on 
the port side, about 500 yards off Then she blew her 
whistle, ran a red flag up to her foremast head, and 
discharged a torpedo, which however fell short. Imme- 
diately afterward, seeing that the torpedo had missed, 
the Naniwa fired a broadside which hulled the Kow-Shingr 
which keeled over to starboard and immediately began 
to sink. 

The English officers at once jumped overboard, and 
beofan to swim for the land, throuorh swarms of China- 
men, dead or drowning. Bullets were striking on every 
side. They came from the Chinese soldiers who were 
herded on the only part of the Kow-Shing left above water. 
Then the Englishmen swam toward the Naniwa, and 
after being a long time in the water were picked up by 
her boats. By this time only the Kow-Shing's masts 
were visible, and two of her boats, while crowds of 
Chinese in the water were swimming about. The 
officer of the Japanese cutter which had picked up the 
Enoflishmen said he was ordered to sink the boats. He 
did fire at them and then returned to the Naniwa 
without picking up any of the Chinese. The next day 
the Naniwa joined the rest of the Japanese fleet, and the 
Englishmen were sent by despatch boat to Japan, where 
they were set at liberty a few days afterwards. 



THE WAR BETWEEN CIITNA AND JAPAN. 481 

The Chinese and Japanese have for ages been in 
communication, mercantile and otherwise, but there has 
always, so far as history goes, been an underlying hostil- 
ity in the feelings of the two nations. These feelings 
have been aggravated by collisions at various periods 
in regard to sovereignty, and the commercial intercourse 
with the Loo-choo Islands, as well as in regard to For- 
mosa, a very large and immensely valuable possession 
for the nation which may be fortunate enough to hold 
it. At present the greater part of the island is in the 
possession of native clans, and the Chinese control the 
country for only a short distance inland, upon the south- 
western portion mostly. 

Then again, China and Japan have been at difference 
for a long time in regard to the Korean territory, over 
which China has always claimed a jurisdiction, which 
however she has not practically exercised, except 
by intriguing in the state affairs of the country and 
demanding acts of vassalage. When Japan, whose 
interests in her neighbors are very important, protested 
against Chinese intrigue and influence, she was received 
with ill-disguised contempt. Upon war being declared 
by Japan, the Emperor of China and his advisers, not 
recognizing the forward state of preparation of the 
Japanese, is said to have ordered his military and naval 
commanders to "exterminate the Japanese vermin." 
How far the effort at "extermination" went, the whole 
world now knows. 

Japan solemnly declared, in a diplomatic note, that her 
whole object in the war was to settle and secure once for 
all the separation and independence of Korea. Of 
course, if successful, she would demand compensation 
for the immense outlay incurred in her campaigns by 
land and sea; and, while not approaching the sum paid 



482 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

by France to Germany at the close of the Franco-Ger- 
man war, it will be very large indeed, and one which will 
hamper the Chinese government for a generation to 
come, as their fiscal methods do not readily lend them- 
selves to such an emergency. 

The Naval Battle of the Yalu, Sept. 17, 1894. 

Since the advent of modern battle-ships of the new 
type, armed with high-powered rifled ordnance, naval 
officers of all nations had been eagerly looking for an 
occasion when the use of such ships and guns would be 
an object lesson to them, and various theories in regard to 
naval warfare would be put to the test of actual practice. 
While most people were looking to movements in other 
and widely distant parts of the world — some predicting 
a naval battle in the North Sea, while others looked for 
a battle of giants in the Mediterranean — the problem 
was in part solved for them by a pitched battle in the 
far Orient, between the Japanese and Chinese fleets, and 
which will be known in history as the battle of the Yalu, 

The rival fleets may be said to have illustrated each a dif- 
ferent principle. That represented by the Chinese was the 
principle of the school which puts material above person- 
nel, for their fleet contained the heaviest ships and the 
largest s^uns, although these were not so numerous as 
those of the Japanese. They had also the most exten- 
sive torpedo equipment. 

The Japanese represented the school which believes 
in lighter, more active ships, and in "the man behind 
the gun" — that is, the greater rapidity and accuracy of 
fire and ability in manoeuvring — much the same as Far- 
ragut's conviction that the best protection for a ship was 
a rapid and accurate fire from her battery. 

Before proceeding to describe the battle it would be 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHlXA AND JAPAN. 483 

well to ofive some account of the strength of the contend- 
ing fleets. By this we mean the available naval strength 
of each nation at the outbreak of the conflict. 

The Chinese navy owes its existence principally 
to the fostering care of the Imperial Viceroy, Li Hung- 
Chang, now in disgrace. He employed Captain Lang, 
an Englishman, and other Europeans to drill the ships' 
companies. But Captain Lang was forced to leave that 
service some time before the war began, and Captain \'on 
Henneken, a German, who constructed the forts at and 
near the naval port of Wei-hai-wei, appears to have taken 
his place as adviser to Admiral Ting — as much as a mih- 
tary man can advise upon naval matters. The Chinese had 
five heavy ironclads — Ting-Yuen, Chen-Yuen, King- 
Yuen, Lai-Yuen, and Pinor-Yuen — with armor from four- 
teen to eight inches thick, and armed with Krupp guns, 
from twelve-inch to eight-inch calibre, mounted in bar- 
bette. They had also some quick-fire and a number of 
machine guns. All of these vessels, except the Ping- Yuen, 
were built at Stettin, in Germany. 

The Chinese protected and partly protected cruisers 
were nine in number, with armaments of Armstrong and 
other guns, and a number of quick-fire guns in two of 
them, the Tschi-Yuen and Ching-Yuen. Most of them 
were built in Germany and in England, but three of the 
smaller ones were constructed in the Chinese building 
yard at Foo-choo. Some of the vessels named were 
quite fast, but as the speed of a fleet is that of its 
slowest ship, we must put it down at ten or eleven 
knots — the speed of the ironclad Ping- Yuen. 

The torpedo flotilla included twenty-eight boats of 
over one hundred feet in length and thirteen over 

o 

eighty, all built in Stettin. 

As regards the Japanese fleet '^ tV« armor-clads 



484 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

'* 

(Riujo, Fuso, Kongo, Hi-Yei, and Tschiyoda), all are 
stated to be practically obsolete but the last, and she was 
much damaged in the battle by the Chinese Tschi-Yuen, 
They were all built in England at different dates, from 
1864 to 1879. The Tschiyoda, armored cruiser, is a 
modern ship of about 2500 tons, built in Glasgow. 
She has a four-and-a-half-inch belt, one-inch deck plat- 
ing, and mounts 24 quick-fire guns. Her best speed is 
about nineteen knots. 

The modern protected cruisers which took part in the 
battle on the Japanese side were the Naniwa, Takachiko, 
Itsukushima, Hashidate, Matsushima, Akitsushima, and 
Yoshino. The lowest speed of any of these ships was 
seventeen and a half knots, and they were armed with 
Armstrong, Canet, and Krupp heavy guns and a very 
large number of quick-fire 4 7-inch, and smaller guns. 

The Akitsushima and Hashidate were built in Japan ; 
the Itsukushima and Matsushima at La Seyne, in France. 
The Naniwa and Takachiko were English built, as was 
also the new Yoshino, with a speed of twenty-three 
knots, 4150 tons, and one of the finest cruisers afloat in 
any navy. 

The Japanese torpedo flotilla consists of 41 boats more 
than 100 feet in length ; but, as we shall have occasion 
to see later on, torpedoes were of not much importance 
in the Yalu batde, owing to the manner in which it was 
fought, and few of those were present. 

The principal dock-yard and naval arsenal of Japan is 
at Yokosuka; and the whole country is divided into two 
naval districts or departments, each subject to a vice- 
minister under the naval minister at Tokio, the capi. 
tal. The discipline and regulations of the Japanese 
fleet are modelled upon those of Europe and America 
much more closely than that of China, and the ships are 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 485 

manned by efficient and well-trained crews, who have 
excellent and well-instructed officers. So many of the 
population are engaged in maritime pursuits — either in 
the fishery or in coasting and carrying on the active 
communication between the islands composing the em- 
pire — that there is a large reserve of hardy, seasoned men 
to draw upon for service in the navy. 

Many of the officers have been educated abroad, some 
of them being graduates of our own Naval Academy at 
Annapolis, where, as a rule, they have always stood well 
in their classes in spite of the difficulty of carrying on 
their studies in a foreign language. These naval cadets 
were received at the request of the Japanese govern- 
ment and wore the uniform and were treated in precisely 
the same way as our own cadet midshipmen, but the 
Japanese government paid all their expenses. 

Thus, though apparently weaker than the Chinese 
fleet, except in the matter of swift cruisers, the Japanese 
navy had qualities which gave it the real, practical advan- 
tage in the battle of the Yalu. More than ever has it 
confirmed the theory that speed is the greatest requisite 
in the sea-fighting of the present day; for it was the 
swiftness of the Japanese vessels which gained them the 
advantage in the first place, seconded by rapid and 
accurate orun-fire. 

o 

We shall see that torpedoes had not much opportunity 
for action, and when used by the Chinese (rather clum- 
sily), failed in taking effect, while there was no use of the 
ram at all — a manner of offence which many looked to 
see exemplified in the first great naval battle. 

The great sea-fight at the Yalu will not be completely 

elucidated for some time to come — probably many; 

months — but we know enough about it to be able to 

give its leading features, mostly from the report made 
31 A 



486 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

to the Japanese Emperor by an aide of Admiral Ito, who 
commanded the fleet of Japanese vessels. 

This fleet had been for several days in the estuary of 
Ping- Yang, in the Bay of Korea, co-operating with the 
land forces upon the river Ta-Tong. On the morning of 
September i6th the Admiral was advised that Ping-Yang 
had been captured, and he at once got under way, pro- 
ceeding to the northward with eleven ships, the names 
of which have already been given, and the Saikio, a 
liofht-armed vessel having on board Admiral Kabi\ama, 
who was senior to Ito, but who did not assume command, 
as he was only upon a tour of inspection and his vessel 
was not intended for fighting. The ships were in two 
divisions. 

On the 17th, in the bay of Takuchao, on the coast of 
Manchouria, they discovered the Chinese fleet, of four- 
teen ships and four torpedo-boats. It was then about 
mid-day. As the opposing forces rapidly approached 
each other it was seen that the Chinese were coming out 
of the bay in a formation not unlike a closed crescent 
or wide V; the Japanese fleet being in line abreast, with 
the Admiral in the centre in the Matsushima. The little 
Saikio also took place in line, in spite of her feeble 
armament. 

When about 4000 metres distant the Chinese Admiral 
and some other of his vessels opened fire, but the 
Japanese waited until the distance had decreased to 3000 
metres before making any reply. Even then ^hey fired 
but a few shots, after which Admiral Ito, seeing that the 
Chinese retained their peculiar and very disadvantageous 
formation, signalled to the van squadron to attack the 
enemy on the right and the rear squadron to attack the 
left. At the same time he ordered the Akagi and the 
Saikio to get on the port or outer side of the rear squad- 



TOE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 487 

S'on, for safety. The presence of the two large and heavily 
plated German-built battle-ships in the Chinese fleet con- 
vinced Admiral Ito that he would have to fight the battle 
under full steam, and, by attacking the Chinese on their 
flanks, break their formation and throw them into con- 
fusion. Seeing that he was exposing first one wing and 
then the other of his fleet to a concentrated fire which 
he could only partially return, Admiral Ting now tried 
to get his vessels into line, and a tremendous cannonade 
ensued, at a distance varying from a mile to a mile and 
a half. The ocean fairly shook as the ships swept on, 
rapidly firing pieces of heavy modern ordnance. The 
Chinese vessels presented a strange appearance, for not 
a moving man could be seen upon their upper decks, 
nor were there any boats at their davits or on their 
decks. It was said that they had purposely left their 
boats behind to prevent their crews from deserting. 

At first the Chinese fire was fairly accurate ; but that 
of the Japanese, coolly handled, and with the newest 
pattern of guns, had a terrible precision. The wheeling 
movement of the Japanese on the right and left flanks, 
and the terrific effect of their rapid-fire guns, seemed to 
throw the line of their enemies into disorder and to 
demoralize their orunners. 

During this tremendous and incessant fire one of the 
Chinese vessels, the Lai-Yuen, an armored cruiser, was 
badly injured, and the Japanese particularly concentrated 
their fire upon her as well as others of the Chinese fleet 
which seemed to be damaged. The Lai-Yuen then be- 
gan to get low in the water, but her gunners continued 
to fire almost to the last, when she sank, stern foremost. 
As her stern went under, her bows rose out of the water, 
and she is said to have remained in this position for 
about a minute and a half before she finally disappeared 



488 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

This fine vessel was sunk by shot, as not a torpedo had 
been discharged. Then came the turn of the Tschi-Yuen, 
which showed sigrns of beino- in trouble, and with a con. 
centrated fire directed upon her she soon sank, with 
every soul on board. 

While the rear of the Japanese main squadron was 
turning- the left of the Chinese the Hi-Yei came so close 
to the latter that, to avoid receiving their fire broadside 
on, she left the main squadron and steamed straight for 
the Chinese line, passing between the two large iron- 
clads, the Ting-Yuen and Lai-Yuen. Both these great 
floating forts fired at her as she passed, and also launched 
two torpedoes, both of which missed, and on went the 
Hi-Yei, cheering and firing from both batteries. She 
had a oreat number of killed and wounded, but had 
passed more than half-way through, without serious dam- 
age to hull or machinery, when a shell from one of the 
battle-ships hit her aft, about three feet above the water 
line, and shattered her mizzenmast and killed her pay- 
master, both her surgeons, all the medical attendants, the 
men at the spare steering-gear, and many of the powder 
division. These were all in the ward-room, which was 
the surgeon's quarters in action. Besides this damage 
the shell set her on fire, and her commander, named 
Sakurai, was obliged to run out of the line of fire until 
he could subdue the flames. 

The Saikio, which was only a steamer of commerce 
turned into an armed vessel, had a somewhat similar ex- 
perience with the two great Chinese ironclads. A shell 
from the Ting-Yuen struck her and destroyed her steer- 
ing apparatus, so that she had to withdraw from the line 
of batde, steering as well as she could by means of her 
screw propellers. It was evident that the Chinese 
thought she was trying to ram, for the two steered apart 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 489 

and made an opening through which the Saikio passed, 
escaping the torpedoes launched by the Chinese. Dur- 
ing these exciting moments the fire slackened a Httle on 
both sides, but was renewed, as soon as the httle vessel 
was safely out of the way, with greater force than ever. 

By this time the Chinese cruiser Tchao-Yung had be- 
come disabled in her machinery, and was forced onto a 
reef of rock ; but she continued to use her guns vigor- 
ously against two of the Japanese fleet which had 
closed with her, the effect of whose fire was such that she 
soon went down by the head and slipped off to sink in 
deep water, leaving about two-thirds of her masts above 
the surface. All of her crew who could do so took 
refuge in the rigging and raised pitiable yells of dis- 
tress. But the fighting was still going on so desperately 
that no assistance could be rendered to these unfortunate 
people. Then another Chinese ship came to grief, the 
Yang-Wai, which retired slowly from the battle, evidently 
hard hit and rolling heavily, while dense masses of smoke 
came up from her. 

Seeing that she was hors dc combat, the Japanese 
did not pursue her. Indeed, the fight was too close 
to permit them to detach any of their ships. Al- 
though they had not suffered so much as the Chinese 
their damages were very considerable. A shell had struck 
the Matsushima which had dismounted her forward 
rapid-fire gun and killed and wounded a number of her 
crew. The Qrun was thrown across her deck with such 
force as to damage the hull of the vessel very consider- 
ably. Indeed, as flag-ship, the Matsushima had been 
the object of particular attention from the Chinese ever 
since the battle began. She had her commander and 
her first lieutenant killed and one hundred and twenty 
of liv-/ ship's company killed and wounded. Yet, in spite 



490 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of the treatment she had received, she seemed in no 
danger of shiking. 

But Admiral Ito needed a flag-ship in better fighting 
condition than that to which the Matsiishima was reduced, 
and so he had a boat lowered, and accompanied by his 
staff passed to the Hashidate and hoisted his flag there. 
The Japanese cruiser Yoshino bore a very conspicuous 
part in the engagement ; and when her captain perceived 
that the Hi-Yei was disabled, he manoeuvred his ship in 
such a way as to cover her withdrawal, and then taking 
her place, attacked her enemy with the greatest vigor. 
She was struck many times and her forward barbette and 
gun were seriously damaged, but the damages were 
promptly repaired, and she was not forced out of action. 

During the battle the Chinese tried to use torpedoes 
several times, but the Japanese kept a good lookout for 
them, and not one made a hit. The captain of the gun- 
vessel, Akagi, stationed himself in the foretop and 
followed all the movements of the Chinese, so that 
whenever they prepared to launch a torpedo he signalled 
the fact. But at last a shot struck the mast, cut it in 
two, and, as it fell to the deck, it killed the captain and 
the two signal-men who were aloft with him. The first 
lieutenant assumed command, cleared the wreck, and 
continued the fight until night put an end to it. 

As the evening drew near a dense smoke arose from 
the ironclad Ting-Yuen and from two of the Chinese 
cruisers, and they were supposed by the Japanese to be 
on fire, especially as their batteries had very much 
slackened and only fired intermittently. But they still 
held their ground, and it was not until sundown that they 
were seen to be in full retreat. 

The Japanese fleet hauled off seaward, expecting 
to renew the action in the morning and fearing to follow 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 4{Jl 

too closely, perhaps on account of torpedoes, while their 
speed was necessarily slow, as it had to be regulated by 
that of their own damaged vessels. 

When day dawned not a sign of the Chinese fleet was 
to be seen. They had made the best of their way to the se- 
cure refuge of the naval arsenals and docks at Port Arthur 
and Wei-hai-wei. Admiral Ito then steamed toward Talu 
Island, where, aground and abandoned by her officers 
and crew, they discovered the Yang-Wei. She was at 
once destroyed by a torpedo, which, it is interesting to 
remark, was the only one used on the Japanese side 
during the whole of the operation. 

The Japanese fleet then repaired to the rendezvous off 
the mouth of the Ta-Tong River, from whence the Akagi, 
Matsushima, Hi-Yei, and Saikio were sent home for re- 
pairs, Admiral Ito's flag being on board the Hashidate, 
where it had been transferred while the action was in 
progress. 

On September 23d the Japanese fleet, reconnoitring 
the neighborhood of Port Arthur, discovered the Chinese 
cruiser Kuang-Ki on shore in Talien-Wan Bay, and, as 
the Japanese drew near, they saw the Chinese abandon 
and blow her to pieces. 

This was the fifth war-ship lost by the Chinese since 
the besinninor of the batde of the Yalu. Though some 
were much damaged, not a Japanese vessel was lost. 
Twelve Japanese officers and 98 men were killed, and 
13 officers and 170 men were wounded. The Chinese 
loss, including those who were drowned, was estimated 
at 2000; but the exact number will probably never be 
known. From the accounts of eye-witnesses the sea 
was full of drowning Chinamen at the time the three 
vessels were sunk during the battle, and few could 
have been saved, as the severest fighting was going 



492 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

on and the Chinese vessels, as we have said above, 
had no boats. 

The condition of the Chinese fleet, when it had with 
difficulty reached Port Arthur under cover of night, was 
most deplorable. The ironclad Ting-Yuen had more than 
200 holes in her made by projectiles, but her armored 
belt was not seriously damaged, the heaviest dents not 
being much more than a few inches deep. Her sister 
ship, the Chen-Yuen, was less frequently struck ; but the 
damage she sustained was more important. She almost 
sunk before she could be secured at her safe anchoraore, 
being several feet by the head. According to the Chi- 
nese accounts, it was the rapid-fire guns of comparatively 
small calibre which inflicted such serious injury. 

The captain of one of our American war-ships on the 
Asiatic station, in describing a visit to the Japanese field- 
hospital, near Nagasaki, says : " There I got a fair concep- 
tion of the killing and wounding qualities of the small- 
bore rifle that all Europe is adopting. The Japanese 
infantry arm is the Murata, the invention of General 
Murata, now Chief of Ordnance of Japan. The calibre 
of the gun is .315, and the bullet weighs 235 grains. I 
saw a Chinese officer who had been struck in the knee- 
joint by one of these bullets, fired at a distance of about 
1000 yards. The thin steel envelope of the bullet had 
broken, and the joint was simply a mass of finely com- 
minuted bone splinters. The knee was perfectly soft, 
without a bone in it unbroken an inch long. Of course, 
the leg had to be amputated. 

" The hospital was the admiration of the French and 
Enorlish surofeons as well as our own. The medical stafif 
were all Japanese who had graduated in medicine and 
surgery either in America or England, then taken a post- 
graduate surgical course in clinics at the Paris and Berlin 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 493 

hospitals. They had the best modern instruments and 
systems, the newest antiseptics — everything a hospital 
on modern Hnes should have. And all this is the work 
of a generation. Truly, the Japanese is a wonderful 
man. 

" I saw something, too, of the effect of the modern shell 
fire on the cruiser of the period at the battle of the Yalu 
River's mouth. The Akagi was hit several times by 
eight-inch shells of the Vavasour-Palliser pattern. One 
of these, fired from the Chinese cruiser Chin-Yuen, tore 
off nearly one-half the iron and steel port-quarter of the 
Akagi, killed Captain Sakamato, her commander, and 
killed and wounded a dozen more officers and men. A 
second shell, from a 200-pounder, made a hole eight 
feet in diameter in the side of the Akitsu. Had the ser- 
vice of the Chinese great guns been equal to that of the 
Japanese, the Akagi, the Hashidate, and Matsushima must 
have been sunk. The Japanese fire was terribly accurate 
and deadly. The Chinese ship Chen-Yuen was hit nearly 
one hundred times. Nothing was left above water of 
her ; of her crew, 460 strong, over 350 were killed or died 
of wounds. All this was from the fire of six-inch and 
eight-inch rifles, at a distance from 1000 to 1600 yards. 
The Chinese had the heavier ships at Yalu, but the fapan- 
ese out-manoeuvred them and out-fought them. Man 
for man, and ship for ship, my -professional opinion is 
that the Japanese commanders are equal to any in Eu- 
rope. They have courage, a high professional knowl- 
edge, and a fierce fighting spirit that nothing daunts." 

The paper from which this report is taken adds that 
the American commanders attribute much of Japan's 
success to the fact that so many of her naval officers were 
educated at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. 

The following description of the condition of things 



494 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

on the decks of Admiral Ting's flag-ship Chen-Yuen, 
after her fight with the two Japanese cruisers Naniwa 
and Yoshino, was sent to an Englisn paper by an ofiicer 
of the British squadron at Chefoo: "The slaughter has 
been awful, blood and human remains being scattered 
over the decks and o^uns. Three of the five men vvorkinof 
the four-ton gun in the after-turret were blown to pieces 
by a six-inch shell from one of the Naniwa's quick-firing 
guns, and a fourth was shot down while attempting to 
leave the turret. The remainino; trynner stuck to his 
post and managed to load and fire three rounds at the 
Naniwa, and, one shell entering her engine room and 
another blowing her forebridge away, she hauled off. 
The Chinese Admiral awarded the plucky gunner looo 
taels. One shell struck the Chen-Yuen's steel deck and, 
glancing off, passed up through the conning-tower and 
exploded, blowing the gunnery lieutenant to pieces and 
leaving his head hanging on one of the voice-pipes. 
Huo^e frao^ments of armor and backincr had been torn 
from their fastenings and carried inboard, crushing a 
number of poor wretches into shapeless masses, even 
the upper part of the funnels being splashed with blood. 
An engineer officer (European) was sent for to repair 
the steam-pipe of the steering-engine, and tried to grope 
his way through the smoke of bursting shells and heaps 
of killed and wounded lying on the deck, when a shot 
struck his assistant and disembowelled him, covering the 
engineer with blood. He nevertheless managed to reach 
the steering-engine and repaired the pipe, for which he 
received a rather handsome reward from the Admiral. 
This engagement lasted about one and a quarter hours, 
when the Japanese hauled off and the Chen-Yuen made 
the best of her way to Wei-hai-wei, their naval station', 
where she arrived the next day in just the same condition 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 495 

as she had left the scene of action, no attempt having 
been made to wash away the blood or remove the dead 
bodies." 

A French writer, in speaking of the battle, says : 
"As was to be expected, recriminations were rife among 
the officers of the defeated fleet. Each one tried to 
throw the responsibility upon his neighbor, while the cap- 
tains were the objects of all sorts of reproaches, some of 
them beinof charg-ed with downriorht cowardice. But, if 
his subaltern officers failed in their duty. Admiral Ting 
cannot avoid the greater part of the responsibility for 
the defeat. During the years that he has commanded 
the fleet in the Gulf of Pe-chi-li he has not known ho\T 
to make it a naval force worthy of the name. The fire 
of his ships was more than mediocre, and the Japanese, 
in that respect, had a vast advantage over the Chinese 
gunners. On the other hand, this general officer has 
proved himself absolutely ignorant of the general princi- 
ples of naval tactics. He hastily got under way and 
took a formation in the shape of a closed crescent, some- 
thinof like a V, which no sailor before him ever dreamed 
of doing; his ships mutually paralyzed each other, and 
at a orlance Admiral Ito took in the situation and over- 
whelmed the branches of the V, one after the other. 

"Admiral Ting would only have been excusable if he 
had not had time to form line of battle ; but in this case he 
must be reproached for not having lookout vessels far 
enough away, as he must have known that the conditions 
were favorable for Japanese vessels to make raids in the 
Gulf of Pe-chi-li and the Bay of Korea. He appears to 
have known nothing of the movements of his enemy, and 
if he took any interest in them it was purely a specula- 
tive one. Personally, Admiral Ting conducted himself 
with bravery; but personal courage is not the only 



496 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

requisite in those on whom is conferred the fearful re- 
sponsibiHty of chief command." 

To sum up the result, the battle of the Yalu was won 
by guns, on fast ships — by guns alone, just as in former 
naval engagements ; for neither torpedoes nor rams 
played any part. If the Japanese torpedo-boats had been 
present, it is quite likely that the destruction would have 
been greater. The Japanese guns were a little more 
modern than those of the Chinese. 

The Japanese had among their artillery some large 
Canet guns and Armstrong rapid-fire guns of moderate 
calibre. The Chinese had Krupp and Armstrong guns 
of more ancient model, and it would appear that the only 
rapid-fire guns they possessed were of very small cali- 
bre — such as are intended for defence against torpedo- 
boats, of which the Japanese had none in the battle. 

The Chinese fleetshowed orreat want of concerted move- 
ment, and as a consequence a defective formation — a 
lack in the commanding officers of ability in manoeuvring 
— and the crews were insufficiently drilled. When the 
Matsushima received such injuries that Admiral Ito was 
obliged to shift his fla^ to the Hashidate, there must have 
been a period of hesitation and delay among the Japanese 
ships, but Admiral Ting does not appear to have taken 
advantage of it. He either did not see it or he did not 
know how to profit by it. 

The Japanese, on the other hand, showed admirable 
decision, and took the offensive with a precise and defi- 
nite knowledge of what they wished to accomplish, while 
their Admiral, by a manoeuvre worthy of all praise, con- 
centrated the whole of his force upon each wing of his 
enemy's fleet in succession. Their crews were well 
drilled and instructed and full of patriotic ardor, all hav- 
ing the same end in view — to win the battle at all costs. 



THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 497 

This is always the case when battles are won, either 
at sea or on land. Victory is the reward of worthy 
effort and methodical preparation. The Japanese have 
appreciated and adopted European methods, have assimi- 
lated Western ideas, and put them in practice with an 
ability which is the more astonishing when we consider 
that thirty years ago they were armed with the weapons 
of feudal days. 

It was reserved for the last comer into the family of 
nations — the last to assume fellowship — to give lessons 
to the rest in the art of naval warfare. 

No doubt, if two first-class European or American 
fleets had cannonaded each other for five long hours, as 
the Japanese and Chinese did at the Yalu, there would 
have been even more terrible destruction ; but the 
deduction is nevertheless to be made, from the late 
batde, that the victory was won by the side which knew 
best how to prepare for it. The lesson it teaches to all 
nations is the necessity of careful preparation and sedu- 
lous training. Modern men-of-war take a long time to 
build and modern arms a long time to construct, while 
the training of an efficient ship's company takes almost 
equally long, even when good and conscientious officers 
devote to it their best abilities. 

After the date of the battle of the Yalu, events of 
great import and influence upon the course of the war 
followed each other with great rapidity, and the telegraph 
conveyed to the Western world reports of marches, bat- 
tles and sieges, in which, however, the Japanese navy 
bore only a secondary but still very important part. 

The Chinese, weakened in vessels and depressed in 
spirit by their losses at the Yalu, did not attempt any 
further naval operations. 

In the latter part of November one of the Japanese 



498 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

armies captured Port Arthur, with its fortifications, which 
were almost impregnable if well defended. The fruit of 
this capture was the fine docks, plenty of naval stores, 
and repairing tools and material, ammunition, guns, and 
several vessels undergoing repairs in consequence of in- 
juries received in battle. This important operation was 
effected by the land forces of Japan, assisted by the navy, 
which occupied the attention of some of the seaward 
Chinese forts, and also prevented the escape of several 
vessels and of a portion of the garrison. 

The Japanese proceeded at once to remove the torpe- 
does and submarine mines planted to protect the entrance 
of the harbor, and at once became busily engaged, with- 
out the loss of a day, in reorganizing the construction 
and repairs shops, and in availing themselves of the fa- 
cilities offered by the fine dry docks — built at so much 
cost by their enemy. 

Transports, with provisions and the latest reserves, 
soon began to arrive at this most advantageous naval 
base, particularly so for the Japanese fleet, which patrolled 
the Gulf of Pe-chi-li, both to prevent interference with 
their transport service and to keep open communication 
with the army of Field Marshal Yamagata as it ap- 
proached Moukden, the ancient city of the North, the 
place of sepulture of the ruling dynasty of China and 
the site of their principal treasury. It is held in much 
greater reverence than Pekin, the political capital, which 
has twice been occupied by foreign armies — those of the 
French and of the English. 

At one time during the early part of the war there 
was a disposition shown by England to interfere in the 
struggle and to endeavor to put an end to a state of 
things which seriously interfered with her commerce and 
promised to affect it still more seriously in the future. 



THE WAR BETWEEN ClITNA AND JAPAN. 499 

But the remarkable ability and power shown by Japan, 
and the failure to persuade other nations to join in an 
armed intervention before the Chinese were forced to 
sue for peace at any price, put an end to the plan. 

In the meantime the northern provinces of China fell 
almost into a state of anarchy. The troops and their 
generals could not be depended upon to successfully de- 
fend any position, no matter how strong, while banditti, 
composed of stragglers, deserters and the scum of the 
population, ravaged the country, and operated with al- 
most complete impunity in the very environs of Pekin. 

A foreigner who had been employed in the Chinese 
customs service was despatched to Japan to endeavor to 
negotiate some sort of armistice, with a view to peace 
negotiations ; but the Japanese Minister of Foreign Af- 
fairs refused to have any communication of so irregular 
a character, and the official was sent off with scant cour- 
tesy. 

After this came the intervention, as negotiators, of the 
American Ministers at Pekin and Tokio — both officials 
of great length of service and experience in their posi- 
tions — with proposals for a peace founded upon the 
granting to Japan of a large money indemnity, as well 
as a territorial concession which would add largely to the 
extent of that empire. 

But, after some tentative proceedings, this well- 
intended intervention failed, as the Japanese seemed 
determined that the Chinese Emperor should sue directly 
for peace, which their success in the conduct of the war 
entitled them to demand. 

The Emperor of Japan is a tremendously hard-worked 
ruler, and a good business man. He watches closely the 
Japanese, as well as the foreign press, and passes over, 
as a rule, ordinary misstatements or criticisms ; but if a 



r»00 NAVAL BATTLES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

newspaper becomes at all dangerous he gives an order 
to his censors, and the newspaper is stopped, while the 
editors are liable to imprisonment. As he has the ap- 
pointment of a large number of members of parliament, 
and the constitution is so adroitly worded that he is still 
the almost absolute ruler of Japan, there was probably 
not much delay in the voting of war measures and 
supplies. 

The Crown Prince, who is not the son of the Empress, 
but of one of the secondary wives, was sixteen years old 
in September, 1894, ^^^ is said to be a bright lad, of 
dark complexion, like his father, with almond eyes and 
face of the most pronounced Japanese type. He is of an 
erect figure and fond of military pursuits. He has been 
educated in the Nobles' school, and has studied French 
and English. The Emperor is taller than most of his 
subjects, very dark, with a long face and heavy features. 
Except in complexion the son is not very much like his 
father, his face being rounder and shorter. There have 
been one hundred and twenty-one Emperors of Japan, 
all of the same family. The first one governed the 
country just about twenty-five hundred years ago. "He 
was on the throne long before Julius Caesar aspired to be 
Emperor of Rome, and three hundred years before 
Alexander the Great thought he had conquered the 
world. The Japanese have the history of all of their 
Emperors from that time down to this, and they will as- 
sure you that the Mikado is a lineal descendant of the 
first Emperor, whose name was Jimmu Tenno. 

"Any other royal family would have run out in less 
than this time, especially in an isolated country like Japan 
but the Japanese have a law by which the Emperor can- 
not marry one of his own family. He has to marry the 



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41 



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THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. 501 

daughter of one of the court nobles, and the Empress is, 
therefore, not of royal blood." 

It is interesting to us, as Americans, to recall the fact 
that, while China and Japan were thus grappling in the 
throes of war, important diplomatic work, of a peaceful 
character, was croinof on between ourselves and each of 
the contending powers. The treaty signed with China 
arranged many important points which had been long at 
issue between us .and them ; but the most impr^rtant 
action was the Convention between the United States 
and Japan, signed about the ist of December, 1894, at 
Washington, by Secretary of State Gresham and Minis- 
ter Kurino, as Plenipotentiaries on behalf of their re- 
spective governments. 

This Convention supplants the Treaty of 1858, already 
alluded to, in which Japan was dealt with as a barbarous 
nation, and that of 1866, by which the United States, 
Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands established 
Japan's customs tariff for her. The United States, alone 
of all nations, has, of late years, insisted upon Japan's 
complete autonomy in foreign as well as domestic affairs ; 
in taxes and tariff duties, as well as in judicial jurisdic- 
tion — none of which she had enjoyed under the old 
treaties. 

32 a 



;o2 



NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



BATTLl'S AT PORT ARTHUR. 







February 8-9 and April 13, A. D. 1904. 



BY G. W. HOBBS, JR. 



HE naval struggle around Port Arthur adds a 
memorable chapter to the history of the world's 
fleets of war. Here was struck the first blow 
and here centered a struggle in which valor 
and the cunning of strategy were remarkably 
blended. This battle of ships and wits lasted 
from Japan's first gun fire against a fleet which 
dominated Oriental waters until, after eleven 
months, the last large ship of the Russian fleet had been sent 
to the bottom and the rest were scattered and disarmed in 
Chinese ports or surrendered to the Japanese army. With 
the loss of one battleship and three cruisers, not one of them 
stricken in actual battle, Japan annihilated a fleet with which 
Russia had counted upon to awe Japan and prevent war, and 
then to quickly subdue her should war be declared. 

The first epoch of the campaign began February 8 and ended 
with the disaster to the battleship Petropavlovsk which struck 
>/a mine, and went down with 600 Russian officers and sailors 
on board, among them Admiral Makaroff. That disaster 
ended Russian aggressiveness until shells falling in city and 
harbor forced the sortie of the entire fleet, August 10, which 
marks the opening of a second epoch. 

War between Japan and Russia was declared February 6, 
TO04. Forty-eight hours later. Admiral Togo had sped from 
Japan to Port Arthur and in a night torpedo attack disabled 



BATTLE OF PORT ARTHUR. 503 

three ships of the Russian fleet. A general battle off the 
entrance to the harbor followed in the afternoon of February 9, 
when five other Russian ships were sunk or disabled. On the 
same day the Russian cruiser Variag and the gunboat Korietz 
were intercepted in the harbor of Chemulpo, Korea, and after 
an hour's battle were sunk. 

An advance squadron of the Japanese fleet, under command 
of Vice-Admiral Togo, comprising sixteen battleships and 
cruisers with a numerous torpedo flotilla left the main fleet off 
Shantung peninsula on Sunday, February 7, immediately that 
news of the diplomatic rupture became known. The Japanese 
scouting cruisers had given accurate information of the lay 
of the Russian warships. The squadron steamed slowly in 
battle formation tow^ard its goal and got within sight of Port 
Arthur under cover of darkness. The Russians were lying in 
the outer roadstead, apparently feeling secure from attack. 
Suddenly the Japanese torpedo boats dashed to the attack. A 
rattle of small arms was all that greeted them while almost 
simultaneously torpedoes were discharged with deadly effect 
against the Retvizan, Czarevitch and Pallada. The Japanese 
dashed along the entire Russian line in a hail of small missiles. 
the Russions seeming to have been too badly surprised to bring 
big guns into play. This was the prelude to the battle. Within 
an hour, shells from Japan's fleet had torn great holes through 
the battleship Poltava and the cruisers Boyarin and Novik and 
hundreds of Russians lay dead on the blood-stained decks. The 
Japanese escaped practically unscathed. 

The news of this battle flashed around the world. War, 
long talked of, had begun. 

Following this early disaster to the Russian fleet the Jap- 
anese began ceaseless attacks, covering operations of mine lay- 
ing vessels which strewed the waters with hundreds of these 
deadly engines of destruction. The object in the naval opera- 
tions throughout February. March, April and May was to 
bottle up the entire Rusian fleet within the harbor. In March 



504 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

four desperate efforts were made to sink merchant ships in the 
narrow channel between Tiger's Tail and Golden Hill. Hun- 
dreds of Japanese gave up their lives. Hundreds were made 
prisoners. Hundreds miraculously escaped and rejoined the 
fleet to repeat the daring attempts. Twelve big merchant ships 
in the various attempts were sent at full speed toward the 
entrance. Mines on board sank them if Russian guns failed to 
find the mark. The approach of the merchant ships, always 
under cover of darkness, was signal for the Russian ships to 
swing in line of battle and dash toward the entrance to aid 
with their guns, the work of the land forts in thwarting the 
Japanese plan. These were practically the only aggressive 
moves of the Russians for more than two months after the 
lirst tremendous blow to the power of the fleet. Even these 
dashes cost heavily. A total of eight torpedo boats and tor- "*• 
pedo boat destroyers and two mine-laying ships were destroyed 
by collision, by running ashore and by striking mines laid by , 
the Russians themselves. Never perhaps has so desperate a 
series of misfortunes been visited on any nation as those which 
haunted the Russian Pacific fleet. When the war opened 
Russia had eight battleships in the Far East, and Japan six ; of 
armored cruisers Russia had 5 and Japan 8 ; of protected 
cruisers Russia had 8 and Japan 14; of torpedo boats Russia 
had 20 and Japan 73. while of torpedo boat destroyers Russia 
had 12 and Japan 12. At a single blow, that of February 9, 
Russia lost three battleships, four cruisers and one gunboat. 
This was the opening chapter of the tragic fate of her fleet. 
At Chemulpo, one cruiser and one gunboat w^ent down : three 
other ships disarmed in Chinese ports, increasing the total of 
losses until whatever naval preponderance Russia had had was 
wiped out and Japan was in position to begin the struggle for / 
the annihilation of the entire fleet. A single ship, however, 
dashing from the harbor might play havoc with any of the 
scores of transports which then were speeding between Japan 
and Korean ports bearing the thousands of men who were to 



BATTLE OF PORT ARTHUR. 505 

form the first army of invasion. Admiral Togo, therefore, 
continued every possible effort to further cripple or more 
securely lock the enemy's fleet in port. 

Despite oft tried and desperate efforts Admiral Togo discov- 
ered that entrance to the harbor was still practicable for war 
vessels. He then determined on a ruse to lure the Russian 
fleet within range of his guns. His plan was to send a weak 
squadron within sight of the citadel, keeping his main squadron 
below the horizon. Should the Russians give chase the weak 
squadron was to flee with the aim of luring the enemy far 
enough away to allow the stronger ships to cut off their retreat 
to the harbor and force a battle. During the night of April 12 
Japanese torpedo boat flotillas daringly approached the harbor 
and harassed the Russians until daylight, laying scores of 
mines in the track of the fleet should to-morrow's plan suc- 
ceed. At 8 A. M. Admiral Makaroff seeing only the few ships 
of the Japanese decoy, fell into the trap. He ordered an attack, 
leading the squadron himself in the battleship Petropavlovsk. 
The passage from the harbor was made in safety. Then fol- 
lowed a chase, the Japanese keeping in range only for the big 
guns which boomed from every ship of the two speeding squa- 
drons. When the Russians had been lured fifteen miles from 
port a wireless telegraph message sped to the flagship of 
Admiral Togo, where it lay, hidden in haze. The Japanese 
battleships, unleashed by word that the Russians were at sea, 
sped at full speed for the harbor entrance. Success seemed cer- 
tain when a great breeze swiftly swept the sea clear of the 
blanket of fog. In an instant the plot was revealed. In an- 
other instant the Russian warships were swinging about and 
soon were ploughing at top speed for the harbor and safety. 
Now the guns of the three squadrons boomed over the sea, but 
distances were too great for any but chance hits and none was 
made. 

It seemed that Admiral Togo's strategy, so nearly suc- 
cessful, had failed. The Russians in a shower of shells finally 
neared the entrance to tlie h.arbor and swept under the fire 
of the Golden Hill and Tig-er's Tail forts. 



5o6 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

But at the very instant when fate, so often against the 
Russians, seemed to have favored them, disaster came. The 
leading Russian ship, the Petropavlovsk, tiagship of Admiral 
Makaroff, suddenly listed far to port, while- a mountain of 
water, churned to froth, shot up at her bow. A Japanese mine 
had done its work, and that when safety seemed assured. In 
an incredibly short time the great battleship had vanished be- 
neath the sea. The Petropavlovsk struck the mine on her star- 
board side, amidships. Immediately there was an awful crash 
of explosion intensified by the demolition of the enormously 
powerful hull of the ship. Above six hundred men were at 
their stations in battle order. In an instant the ship, filling 
with water, there was not a moment for a single act of self- 
preservation. With a great con\ulsion the great ship flung 
herself side down into the sea and with a mighty rushing of 
waters turned completely upside down and vanished. 

The effect of the awful spectacle appalled the men of both 
fleets. The Russians, after saving only a score of the ship's 
complement, kept on into the harbor. On the fortifications 
the men forgot their guns. The bombardment of the Jap- 
anese fleet ceased in an instant, and the Japanese, them- 
selves awed by the spectacle, turned helms and sped away. 

News of the catastrophe appalled Russia. Admiral Maka- 
roff was among Russia's idols. His loss staggered the na- 
tion. The disaster itself was one of a series that had caused 
Russia the loss of six shi])s and 960 men. Superstitious awe 
swept through the humble classes. Grief and joy was min- 
gled for the royal family. There was grief at the loss of 
Makaroff and joy at the miraculous escape of Grand Duke 
Cyril, cousin of the Tsar. The Grand Duke was blown into 
the sea from the bridge of the battleship and was rescued 
by a boat from the Pobieda. Those rescued beside the Grand 
Duke were three lieutenants, two midshipmen and fifty-two 
sailors. At least six hundred perished. The tragedy took 
the heart out of the Russian fleet. From that date until the 



BATTLE OF PORT ARTHUR. 507 

middle of August the naval campaign lagged, the fleet remain- 
ing within the harbor except to repel more daring advances 
of the Japanese. Though no actual battle had taken place 
between the fleets, the loss of the Petropavlovsk reduced the 
fighting power of Russia by half, twelve ships having been 
sunk or disabled. This was the situation, when, on August 
10, the remnants of the fleet made the sortie that added dis- 
aster to disaster and ended the last hope of Russia to redeem 
the record of her fleet in the Far East. 



5o8 



NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



BATTLE OFF FORT ARTHUR. 




August 10, A. D. 1904. 



BY G. W. HOBBS, JR. 



HE greatest naval battle of the Russian-Japan- 
ese war was fought August lo off Port Ar- 
thur. The land investment of Port Arthur, 
late in July, had reached points from which 
siege guns could drop shells into the city 
and harbor, and the remnant of the Russian 
fleet was threatened with destruction from 
chance shots. It was, therefore, determined 
to make a sortie, to give battle to the Japanese with the hope 
of breaking through the Japanese line of battle, joining the 
Vladivostok squadron in the Gulf of Korea, and thence reach 
Vladivostok, which offered greater safety from the enemy's 
attack. The Russian fleet, commanded by Admiral Withioft, 
consisted of six battleships, four cruisers and fifteen torpedo 
boats and torpedo boat destroyers. Against these the Jap- 
anese had an equal number of battleships, five times as many 
cruisers and three times as many smaller craft. 

On the morning of that day the guardships telegraphed 
information of the enemy's sortie. The news was received 
with delight throughout Japan's fleet. Admiral Togo rapidly 
made all dispositions. His plan was to draw the Russians as 
far south as possible m order to prevent a repetition of the 
fiasco of April 13. PTe did not know whether the enemy's 
destination was Vladivostok or not. Therefore, he steered 
south, being constantly informed by scouts of the enemy's 
movements. 



BATTLE OF PORT ARTHUR. 509 

The squadrons gradually approached, the Japanese squadron 
being on the east. At 12.30 P. M., being then thirty miles 
south of Port Arthur, Admiral Togo signalled his ships to go 
into action. 

The Russians thereupon formed a single column hne ahead, 
their force consisting of six battleships, the Czarevitch in the 
van of four cruisers, eight destroyers, one hospital ship. 

At I P. M. the action began. Twice the lines approached, 
and twice receded. There was a fierce cannonade from both 
sides, but whereas the Japanese gunners were absolutely calm 
and scored hits with few misses, the Russian projectiles nearly 
all fled wide. After 'two and a half hours of fighting both 
sides drew off for one hour and then approached each other 
once more, the Russians now opening fire, which was largely 
concentrated on the Mikasa. Admiral Togo and staff, how- 
ever, quite unconcerned, directed every operation. 

The Russian vessels now changed direction to the south- 
east, and the Japanese pursued them. 

At 7.30 P. M. the Czarevitch was struck by a twelve-inch 
shell below the water line on the port side, and suddenly turned 
to the starboard, whereupon the other vessels, in order to avoid 
collision, put their helms to port and starboard and fell into 
confusion. This was an opportunity the Japanese did not 
fail to seize. They poured in a very hot fire at a range of >/ 
3,000 to 4,000 meters. The Russians' fire was virtually 
silenced except from the Retvizan, which, with conspicuous 
bravery, maintained a cannonade until, having received the 
Japanese concentrated fire, she was reduced to fitful dis- 
charges by one or two guns. The slackening of the enemy's 
fire seemingly was not due to shortness of ammunition, but 
to damage inflicted and casualties sustained. 

When night fell the combat terminated. The Russian cruis- 
ers and destroyers under cover of darkness steamed away at 
full speed, pursued by the Japanese torpedo craft, which had 
anticipated this manoeuvre. 



5IO NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

At 8.40 P. M., having been informed that the Russian main 
squadron was between Round Island and Shantung, Admiral 
Togo steamed in pursuit, accompanied by the torpedo boats, 
which, dashing in through the Russian searchlights, deliv- 
ered several attacks for the space of one hour. One torpedo 
was seen to explode against the side of Czarevitch. 

Throughout the night the desperate pursuit continued, the 
swift Japanese torpedo craft clinging to the heels of the 
fleeing Russians, and keeping up a raking fire from every 
available gun. The dispersion of the Russian fleet was com- 
plete. Battered and shattered, a handful of ships limped back 
to Port Arthur, where, under the guns of the powerful forts 
on shore, they threw off the tenacious Japanese pursuers. The 
battleship Czarevitch reached the German-Chinese port of 
Tsingchou, where, after sufficient repairs to keep her afloat, 
she was dismantled. The protected cruiser Askold, in a 
sinking condition, wth practically all of her upper works 
shot away and three-fourths of her guns disabled, reached 
the Chinese port of Woosung, and later was disarmed at 
Shanghai. The Russian destroyer Grozovoi likewise reached 
Shanghai and disarmed. Four others disarmed at Tsingchou ; 
another, the Ryeshetelni, sought refuge at Chifu, and was cut 
out by the Japanese and taken captive to Japan. Two others 
which went ashore on the China coast were destroyed by 
the Japanese. 

WHiile no ship was sunk, the blow to Russia nevertheless 
was tremendously severe. The surviving fleet at Port Ar- 
thur had lost one-fourth of its numerical effectiveness, while 
every ship that reached the haven of that port was too seriously 
damaged ever to hope to give effective battle in the open seas 
again. Temporary repairs were made, but the increased 
effectiveness of the Japanese bombardment from the land side 
had damaged the navy yards so seriously that no finished 
repairs could be made, and the Russian fleet remained at 
anchor in the harbor until, in the closing days of the siege, 



BATTLE OF PORT ARTHUR. 5II 

Japanese guns on 203 Metre Hill completed the work that 
Togo had begun. The Japanese casualties to ships and men 
were trifling in comparison with the damage that had been 
inflicted. No ship was damaged seriously enough to require 
repairs in dock yards, all of them being patched up effectively 
while the fleet was still at sea. 

On board the battleship Mikasa, Admiral Togo's flagship, 
there were four officers and twenty-nine men killed, six offi- 
cers and twenty-nine men severely wounded, and four officers 
and twenty-nine men slightly wounded. 

The armored cruiser Yakumo had one officer and eleven 
men killed and ten wounded. 

On board the armored cruiser Nisshin, seven officers and 
nine men were killed and two officers and fifteen men were 
wounded. 

Ten men were wounded on the armored cruiser Kasuga. 

The torpedo boat destroyer Asagiri had two men killed. 

On board torpedo boat No. 38 one man was killed and 
eight others wounded. 

When the smoke of the battle cleared away one ship could 
not be accounted for. This was the cruiser Novik. She alone 
of the entire Russian fleet bid fair to make Vladivostok. Her 
overhauling and destruction by two cruisers of Admiral Kami- 
mura's fleet was a corollary to the battle of August 10. The 
Novik made for the port of Tsingchou after the battle, but 
finding the ship still seaworthy, though badly damaged, her 
commander put to sea, headed for Vladivostok. Before doom 
overtook the ship she had covered 2,000 miles of the journey 
and had reached Karsakovsk at the southern end of the Island 
of Sakhalin. Here she was discovered by the Japanese cruis- 
ers Chitose and Tsushima on August 20. The l)attle began 
on the afternoon of August 20, continued until dark and was 
resumed the morning of August 21. The Japanese marks- 
men riddled the Russian ship, and after her long and gallant 
defense she was beached in the harbor of Karsakovsk, burning 



512 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and a veritable wreck. The snr\i\'ors of officers and men 
landed at Karsako\'sk. A Japanese landing party, under fire 
from shore batteries, entered the harbor to view the wreck. 
They found the ship submerged to the conning tower, her 
works wherever ^■isi]lle shot to pieces. Thus ended in dis- 
aster the Russian sortie of August lo. As a result Japan 
became unquestioned mistress of the Eastern seas. The fleet 
off Port Arthur became only a blockading squadron. Admiral 
Togo and Admiral Kamimura had won for themselves an 
undying name and fame, to live as long as the Empire of 
Japan. 




BLOWING UP OF THE PKTROPAVLOVSK. 



BATTLE OF KOREA STRAITS. 



513 




BATTLE OF KOREA STRATrS. 

August 14, A. D. 1904. 
BY G. W. HOBBS, JR. 

HE sortie of the Russian fleet. August 10, was 
designed to effect a juncture between the Port 
Arthur fleet and the Russian ships, which the 
beginning of hostiHties had found at Vladi- 
vostok. These were the armored cruiser Ros- 
sia, 12,200 tons; the armored cruiser Rurik, 
10,940 tons; the protected cruiser Bogatyr, 
6,750 tons ; the armored cruiser Gromovoi, 
12.336 tons. In May the Bogatyr ran on a rock in Vladivos- 
tok harbor, and was disabled beyond repair, thus reducing the 
squadron to three ships. Despite the apparent feebleness of 
the fleet, however, it made several sorties under command 
of Admiral Jessen and did enormous damage to Japan's mer- 
chant shipping and transports, and by the sinking and capture 
of foreign merchant shipping involved Great Britain, Germany 
and the United States in diplomatic wrangles with Russia. 
The most memorable of the Vladivostok raids were made in 
June and July, when Admiral Jessen skirted the coasts of 
Korea and Japan, sunk the transport Sadowaru with 800 
troops on board, bombarded Wonsan, captured and sank the 
Knight Commander, seized the Arabia, sank a score of coast- 
ing ships and practically paralyzed ocean trade to the Far 
East. Meantime Admiral Kamimura, with the second Jap- 
anese squadron, scoured the waters about Vladivostok in 
vain. Three times the Vladivostok ships made daring raids 
and returned safely to harbor. 



514 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

On the eve of the Russian sortie from Port Arthur Admiral 
Jessen left Vladivostok and ran southward to Tsugaru Straits, 
a narrow water between Japan and Korea. Here he expected 
to be joined by the Port Arthur ships. The defeat and 
dispersion of this tleet by Admiral Togo off the China coast 
prevented the anticipated juncture. Meantime Admiral Kam- 
imura, warned by wireless telegraph of the whereabouts of 
the Vladivostok ships, closed on them, and a memorable bat- 
tle and pursuit followed. The Rurik was beached in a sinking 
condition, and after a desperate running tight the Rossia and 
Gromoboi finally reached Vladivostok, each a charnel house 
of dead, dying and wounded, each ship damaged, practically 
beyond repair, by the Japanese men behind the guns. 

The story of the light was fully told in despatches to Tokio 
and St. Petersburg. The result was the destruction of the 
Vladivostok squadron as an effective fighting force. Raids 
on shipping were at an end. The battle was thus described 
by the Japanese Admiral : 

The morning of August 14 broke beautifully clear. Ad- 
miral Kamimura's four cruisers, forming one squadron, steered 
south from a point on the Korea coast. At c; A. M. the three 
Vladivostok cruisers were sighted off the port bow steering 
south at a distance of 10,000 metres. The Japanese prayed 
earnestly that these troublesome vessels would not again elude 
pursuit. Every precaution was taken to avoid observation, the 
Japanese steering across the rear of the Russian vessels, which 
advanced southward apparently unconscious of the enemy's 
proximity. Presently, sighting the Japanese, the Russians 
put about and steamed northward at full speed, the Rossia 
leading, the Rurik in the rear. 

It was now 5.20 A. M., and the two squadrons were 8,000 
meters apart. The Japanese opened fire, and soon there was 
a hot interchange. The Russians were in single column, line 
ahead, while the Japanese were crossing their course in two 
squadrons in a "T" shape, raking the enemy fore and aft. 



BATTLE OF KOREA STRAITS, 515 

whereas his ships masked each other's fire. The Japanese 
projectiles repeatedly took effect, whereupon the enemy, rec- 
ognizing the disadvantage of his position, changed his course 
for the purpose of bringing his line parallel with the Jap- 
anese, but this manoeuvre threw the Rurik out, owing to her 
inferior speed, thus enabling the Japanese to concentrate their 
fire on her at a range of 4000 to 5000 meters. Thereupon the 
Rossia and Gromoboi, observing the Rurik's plight, circled 
round her for the pur{X)se of giving her succor, thus again 
exposing themsehes to the Japanese raking fire, which was 
poured hotly into them, the Russian vessels replying with 
every available gun. 

The Rurik now burst into flames and began to describe 
circles, her steering gear apparently having been injured. The 
Rossia and Gromoboi also caught fire. Flames poured from 
their portholes and evidently there was much confusion on 
board, but the crews succeeded in extinguishing the fires. 
Meanwhile the Rurik began to go stern down and had a list to 
port. Her brave crew, however, never flagged, serving her 
guns repeatedly. The Rossia and Gromoboi came to her assist- 
ance, but only exposed themselves again, suffering heavily and 
inflicting little damage, though the range now did not exceed 
4500 meters. Nearly every shot from the Japanese guns took 
effect. The Rossia took fire five or six times and on three or 
four occasions the Gromoboi burst into flames. Finally the 
Rurik had only two guns left in action and her mizzenmast 
was shot away. 

It was now 9 A. M. and the Rossia and Gromoboi, seeing 
the Rurik doomed, abandoned her and steamed away at full 
speed. Just then the fourth Japanese squadron, consisting of 
the Naniwa and Takachiho, arrived, and, leaving them to deal 
with the Rurik, Admiral Kamimura pursued the fugitives. 
The Rurik was now opposed only by two small cruisers, and 
renewed the fight with splendid gallantry, but owing to her 



5l6 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

crippled condition was unable to effect anything. Gradually 
she sank. Some of her crew jumped overboard, w^hile others 
opened the portholes in order to hasten her sinking, but, with 
enduring courage, continued throughout to serve her guns. 
Finally she stood up and went down by the stern. The scene 
was strewn with hammocks and planks to which men were 
clinging. The Naniwa and Takachiho forthwith lowered boats 
and the men were ordered to save life, and were assisted by the 
torpedo squadron just arrived. 

Meanwhile Admiral Kamimura, abandoning pursuit of the 
Russian vessels, whose speed was unimpaired, although their 
hulls and armaments were severely injured, returned to the 
scene and aided in saving the lives of the Russians, of whom 
60 1 were rescued. One died shortly afterward. About 200 
were wounded, forty-three severely, ten probably mortally. 
The captain, commander and most of the officers of the Rurik 
were killed. The J.1panese casualties were forty-four killed, 
including two officers, and sixty-five wounded, including seven 
officers. The fighting power of the Japanese ships was unim- 
paired. 

The Emperor, in thanking Admiral Kamimura, noted espe- 
cially the fact that his sole duty hitherto had been to guard 
the Korean Straits. This was an intended rebuke for previous 
criticisms regarding Admiral Kamimura's failure to prevent 
sorties by the Vladi^'ostok cruisers. 

The story of the battle as told by the Russian Admiral Jes- 
sen who was on the Rossia was as follows : 

At dawn on August 14, the Rossia, Gromoboi and Rurik 
arrived forty-two miles from and parallel with Fusan and 
thirty miles from the northern lighthouse of Tsu Island, when 
to the westward I saw a Japanese squadron of armored cruisers 
six miles to the north, traveling parallel with our course. This 
squadron consisted of four vessels of the Iwate type, and was 
putting on full speed. 

I took a course to the northward with a view to attaining 




CAPTURE OF THE •■RESHITELNF' AT CHIFU. 



BATTLE OF KOREA STRAITS. 517 

the open sea, but tlie enemy, who was of superior speed, turned 
immediately and took the same course. 

I was, therefore, obhg-ed to engage in battle, which com- 
menced at 5 o'clock in the morning, with a distance of sixty 
cables between the two squadrons. (A cable length is 200 
yards.) 

In the straits to the south we saw a second-class cruiser of 
the Xaniwa type coming to join the enemy. 

At a convenient opportunity we rapidly turned to the right, 
intending to approach the Korean coast, and by increasing our 
speed to seventeen knots we seemed to have an opportunity of 
succeeding, but the enemy now observed our intention and 
directed his course toward us for the purpose of hindering our 
design. 

Hardly five minutes passed before the Rurik left the ranks 
and signaled that her steering gear was disabled. I replied, 
''Steer with the engines," and continued on my former course. 

Seeing that all of the Japanese cruisers were concentrating 
their fire on the Rurik, all my subsequent manoeuvring was 
exclusively with the object of enabling the Rurik to repair her 
damaged rudder. I attracted to myself the enemy's fire in 
order to cover the Rurik. 

At this time I 'saw two warships, one a second and the other 
a third-class cruiser, coming to join the enemv. 

The Rurik hoisted the signal, "Cannot steer." Some 
manteuvring in the front line gave the Rurik a chance of going 
in the direction of the Korean Gulf, and. at 8 o'clock, the 
signal was hoisted "Go east." The Rurik answered the signal, 
and took the requisite course at full speed, as could be seen 
from the wa\-es from her bows. 

Eventually the Rossia and the Gromoboi took a northerly 
course at a distance of forty-two cables. The Rurik kept a 
course approximately southeast at a distance of three miles. 

The l:iattle continued for two hours in this manner. 



5l8 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

We suffered considerable damage. The Rossia had three 
funnels pierced, which prevented her from keeping up good 
steam, and three of her boilers were rendered useless. 

At 9.30 the Rurik began to lag behind considerably, and 
again turned her bows toward the shore, at the same time fight- 
ing against the two second-class cruisers which had joined the 
enemy's squadron. The Rurik soon afterward began to get 
out of sight. 

Vice-.Vdmiral Kamimura. with four armored cruisers, kept 
steadfastly engaging us in such a manner as to keep us from 
assisting the Rurik. 

While the Rurik continued fighting we continued our efforts 
to attract the enemy further north, in the hope that the Rurik 
would manage to dispose of her comparatively weaker oppo- 
nents and that after repairing the damage to her rudder she 
would be able to reach Vladivostok independently. 

Shortly before 10 o'clock the enemy's fire was the most 
terrific of the battle, but, to our general astonishment, the whole 
Japanese squadron left us after the most deadly fight, which 
had lasted five hours. 

The Rossia had sustained eleven holes at her water line 
and the Gromoboi had six. Both cruisers lost more than half 
their officers, and the losses among the men totaled 25 per 
cent. 

It appeared impossible to renew the battle or to return to 
the Rurik, which was now thirty miles to the south. 

Taking advantage of the calm, we stopped our engines and 
quickly began to repair the damages in our vessels, so as to 
enable us to proceed to Vladivostok. 

Captain Berlinsky, of the Rossia, was killed, and five of his 
officers were wounded. On board the Gromoboi two lieuten- 
ants were killed and eight officers were wounded. Both cruisers 
had T35 men killed and 307 wounded. Captain Berlinsky was 
buried at sea. 



■rV"5^ -"t~^ 





BATTLE OF KOREA STRAITS. 519 

The report concluded by testifying to the heroism displayed 
by all the officers and men, who, it said, seemed to have been 
made of iron, knowing no fear or fatigue. 

A personal examination made of the damage done to the 
cruisers by the Japanese fre. Admiral Alexieff said in trans- 
mitting the report, convinces him of the high courage and self- 
sacrificing efforts of those who took part in an unequal battle 
against the superior forces of the Japanese. 

A later official dispatch from Vladivostok showed that nearly 
every officer on the Rossia and Gromoboi was either killed or 
wounded. Rear Admiral Jessen narrowly escaped the fate of 
Admiral Withioft. He was standing on the bridge of the 
Rossia when it was wrecked by a shell. The two Russian 
cruisers were literally riddled, their guns and engines being 
partially dismantled. The escape of the Russian vessels from 
Admiral Kamimura's four armored cruisers is regarded as a 
wonderful piece of luck. 

Japan owes much of the triumph of her navy to the admiral 
of her fleet, Togo. Modern naval vessels have never before 
received the thorough use which has been given them in the 
naval battls off Port Arthur and it required an officer of rare 
talents to use to the best advantage the powerful but compar- 
atively untried units of attack and defense which made up 
Japan's fleet and which make up the fleet of every great power. 
On Admiral Togo fell this task. Consummate skill has been 
demonstrated by this great captain in.every detail of his cam- 
paign. The smaller craft of the fleet were given the brunt of 
the early fighting. These were launched in desperate and in- 
cessant attacks when at the very outset the Russian fleet was 
crippled almost beyond repair. Togo was saving his big 
ships for more serious work and at no part of the campaign 
exposed them to great danger. In strategy he has proved 
himself a master. By a ruse he lured Makaroff to destruction 
and frequently by skilfully concealing his real force and 
whereabouts gave the torpedo boats, the vampires of his fleet, 



520 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

opportunity to fall upon Russian torpedo boats and destroy- 
ers, which ventured from port on account of the apparent ab- 
sence of the enemy. When, on August ic, the hour came for 
the entire fleet to give battle Togo again gave evidence of 
consummate skill and fidelity to his plan to save the big ships 
for \\hate\er greater work the future might have in store. 
Xevertheless, at distances just within their range and just 
beyond the range of the Russian ships, the battleships hurled 
monster shells into the fleeing Russian fleet, and it was one 
of these long distance shots that smashed the Russian flag- 
ship, destroyed the Rusian alignment and turned an orderly 
flight into utter rout. The Japanese Admiral who has won 
imperishable fame as a naval fighter is a little man, even for 
a Japanese. In his fifty-sixth year when the war broke out he, 
at that time, was a calm, determined looking man with every 
line of his face and poise of his body speaking of a man of 
iron determination. The most desperate, hour of battle found 
him, as ever, calm, imperturbable, of few worths, these rigor- x 
ously to the point, incisively delivered. Admiral Togo's re- 
ports were indicati\e of the man. Each a few words accu- 
rately describing what event had transpired, each the naked 
truth. A disaster to a Japanese ship was recorded in the 
official despatches as unhesitatingly as a blow dealt the enemy. 
When victory was to be reported, self glory was always 
absent. Every success was loyally ascribed "to the virtues of 
the Emperor." Certainly Admiral Togo, in every detail of his 
conduct in a long and arduous campaign, realized that descrip- 
tion written by a great poet of a great sailor : 

"Thy country loves thee well, thou famous man; 
The greatest sailor since the world began." 
To Admiral Togo ultimate victory was no surprise. He 
expresed full confidence in the outcome when the war began. 
When the last Russian ship had been destroyed and the first 
task of the navy was accomplished. Admiral Togo formally 
announced the fact. His despatch to his Emperor rings with 



BATTLE OF KOREA STRAITS. 52 1 

the modesty characteristic of all of Japan's great generals. 
Less brief than Caesar's "Veni, Vidi, Vici," or Perry's "We 
have met the enemy and he is ours," the message is splen- 
didly succinct, notably calm, generous in tribute, splendid in 
absence of personal abnegation. Admiral Togo thus told of 
the final acts in one of the world's greatest naval dramas. 

"After 203-Metre Hill was occupied, as the result of a 
gallant and desperate attack by the besieging army, the bom- 
bardment of the enemy's squadron by siege and other heavy 
guns became effective. In consequence the battleships Poltava 
and Retvizan were sunk and subsequently the battleships 
Pobieda and Peresviet, the protected cruiser Pallada and the 
armored cruiser Bayan were sunk. The battleship Sevasto- 
pol escaped the land bombardment, left the harbor December 
9 and anchored near Chentao ^Mountain. She was attacked 
there continuously by our torpedo boats and heavily damaged. 
The main strength of the enemy is completelv crushed. Onlv 
a weak gunboat, the Otvashni, and several torpedo boat de- 
stroyers remain afloat. 

FLEET NO LONGER NEEDED. 

"Under the circumstances our combined fleet has been re- 
moved as unnecessary from the blockade of Port Arthur, 
which had been maintained since May i. I have arranged for 
a closer watch for ships attempting to run the blockade and to 
watch the remnant of the enemy's squadron. 

"During the blockade we suffered from the enemy's mines 
l)Oth laid and floating on the high seas and from dense fogs. 
The cruisers Miyako. Saiyen and Yoshino. Hatsuse, battle- 
ship; Kaimon, gunboat, and Heiyen. coast defense vessel, 
were sunk and many gallant and loyal officers and men were 
drowned, but we succeeded in maintaining the blockade. 
WHien the enemy emerged from the harbor our fleet success- 
fully engaged him, and finally, with the valuable support of 
the besieging army, succeeded in crushing nearlv all the ene- 
my's squadron. Our second squadron so heavily damaged 



522 NAVAL BATTLES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the Vladivostok squadron that it has since been unable to leave 
port. 

"All this success is gratefully attributed to the brilliant vir- 
tue of our Emperor. 

PAYS TRIBUTE TO MEN. 

"During- the blockade all the ships under my command 
splendidly accomplished the work and duty assigned to them. 
Especially to be noted are some of those who were engaged 
in the difficult and risky task of blockading or who tirelessly 
accomplished the work of laying mines in the presence of the 
enemy, others, who, braving all dangers, were engaged in the 
work of clearing mines away, and others still who were posted 
to watch the enemy and guard against the enemy's ships. 
Their combined work strongly contributed to the. accomplish- 
ment of the blockade. I deem it my duty to especially mention 
my recognition of the valuable service rendered by the officers 
and men." 

The campaign thus closed resulted in the loss to Russia of 
thirty-five vessels of war of all classes. Japan lost twenty- 
three vessels, with three exceptions, ships of lesser importance. 

Russia's losses were : 

Battleships : Petropavlovsk, blown up by a Japanese mine at 
the entrance to the harbor of Port Arthur ; Retvizan, Poltava, 
and Peresviet, sunk ; Czarevitch, disarmed at Shanghai after 
the defeat of August lo; Pobieda badly damaged and sunk 
at Port Arthur; Sevastopol, blown up by the Russians to pre- 
vent her capture. 

Cruisers : B(warin. Bayan, Pallada. Variag, Rurik, Rossia 
and Lena, sunk : Novik, Giliak and Bogatyr, ashore de- 
stroyed ; Askold, Diana, Gromoboi, disarmed. 

Gunboats, etc. : Koi-ietz and Yenesei, sunk, and twelve 
others, including torpedo boats and destroyers. 

Janan's losses : Battleship Hatsuse, sunk. 

Cruisers : Usuyako, Saiyen and Yoshino, sunk. Also three 
transports and i6 torpedo boats or destroyers. 



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